LysM Receptor-Like Kinases To Improve Plant Defense Response Against Fungal Pathogens

ABSTRACT

Perception of chitin fragments (chitooligosaccharides) is an important first step in plant defense response against fungal pathogen. LysM receptor-like kinases (LysM RLKs) are instrumental in this perception process. LysM RLKs also play a role in activating transcription of chitin-responsive genes (CRGs) in plants. Mutations in the LysM kinase receptor genes or the downstream CRGs may affect the fungal susceptibility of a plant. Mutations in LysM RLKs or transgenes carrying the same may be beneficial in imparting resistance against fungal pathogens.

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/836,084 filed on Aug. 7, 2006.

GOVERNMENT INTERESTS

This work was funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of Energy, Energy Biosciences Program, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (grant number DE-FG02-02ER15309). The United States government may have certain rights in the invention disclosed herein.

SEQUENCE LISTING

This application is accompanied by a sequence listing that accurately reproduces the sequences described herein.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to the use of molecular genetic technology involving LysM receptor kinase family genes and the expression or nonexpression thereof to modulate plant defense responses, especially against fungal pathogens.

Fungal disease causes significant agricultural losses in the United States and other parts of the world. Control of these pathogens is particularly difficult, often requiring treatment of entire fields with biocidal compounds. Although effective, increasing concern about the environmental and economic costs of such treatments require the need for alternative control methods.

Phakopsora pachyrhizi is a fungus that causes a rust disease of soybean (Glycine max), also known as Asian Soybean Rust. The pathogen has spread from Asia to all other soybean production regions in the world, and is reported to have arrived in the United States in the fall of 2004. At present, there is no known durable resistance available in any soybean varieties. Uromyces appendiculatus is a fungus that causes rust on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Breeders are working to identify genes in bean that can be manipulated for rust resistance. United States soybean producers have anticipated the arrival of P. pachyrhizi, the fungus that causes soybean rust, since its reported occurrence in Brazil. The arrival of P. pachyrhizi in the U.S. in late 2004 ended the anticipation, and farmers must now respond to the potential annual occurrence of this new disease. Farmer concerns have been based on reports of losses ranging from 10 to 80% in other regions of the world when control measures were not successfully implemented.

As rust-inducing fungi, U. appendiculatus and P. pachyrhizi belong to the order Uredinales, within the class Basidiomycetes. U. appendiculatus produces five spore stages on a single host plant. P. pachyrhizi reproduces predominantly by uredospores on a single host plant. Uredospores are responsible for rapid spread of the fungus. P. pachyrhizi can infect dozens of legume species, in addition to soybean.

Uredospores of U. appendiculatus penetrate through foliar stomatal openings. P. pachyrhizi differs in that germinated uredospores penetrate directly through the leaf epidermal cell layer. Typically, a uredospore that lands on a leaf surface germinates to produce an infection pad (appressorium) that adheres to the surface. In both species, the appressorium produces a hyphal peg that penetrates the plant. After penetration, each fungus develops thread-like structures (hyphae) that grow inter-cellularly through leaf tissues. The hyphae enter host cells without killing them. There, they produce spherical structures (haustoria) that extract nutrients from the living leaf cells. Soon after infection each fungus forms uredia that produce additional spores.

Soybean producers are particularly concerned because no durable, natural resistance to rust has been discovered after testing more than 18,000 soybean varieties. The pathogen, P. pachyrhizi can potentially infect any cultivar produced. In anticipation of the arrival of the rust pathogen, a great deal of research has been conducted to identify effective fungicides, and emergency governmental clearance for application to soybean has been obtained. Traditional screening and breeding methods have identified no major resistance genes to the aforementioned pathogens, and particularly in the case of U. appendiculatus and P. pachyrhizi.

Fungicides will likely be the front-line of defense against these and other fungal pathogens for many years until new resistance genes or other forms of resistance are identified. Fungicides have not traditionally been used in most soybean production. Consequently, there is limited information concerning the costs of this disease management practice and its likely economic viability. Widespread use of fungicides may also raise environmental concerns. These concerns have led to variable estimates of the acreage in Missouri and other states that may be shifted from soybean to alternative crops.

To protect soybean farmers and to ensure that soybean production meets increasing market demand, it is imperative that alternatives to fungicides be developed as rapidly as possible. Biotechnology-based approaches for defense against plant diseases are more preferable due to the minimal use of chemicals and the relative ease of deployment.

Chitin is a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, found in fungal cell walls, insect exoskeletons, and crustacean shells. It has been hypothesized that plant chitinases can degrade chitin in the fungal cell walls to directly affect the viability of the invading fungal pathogen and to release short fragments (chitooligosaccharides) that can act as a general elicitor of plant innate immunity pathways. See e.g., Shibuya et al., 2001 and Stacey et al., 1997. In support of the above hypothesis, purified chitooligosaccharides have been shown to induce various defense responses in plants or cultured cells, such as induction of defense related genes and synthesis of phytoalexin. Shibuya et al., 2001 and Ramonell et al., 2005.

More particularly, chitooligosaccharides have been shown to induce a large number of genes (including many defense-related genes), and mutations in selected chitooligosaccharide-responsive genes or chitin-responsive genes (CRGs) have been shown to increase the susceptibility of a plant to certain fungal pathogens. See Ramonell et al., 2002; and Ramonell et al., 2005. Taken together, these studies suggest that plants possess a specific system to recognize chitooligosaccharides which, in turn, activate defense genes. See generally, Day et al., 2001; Zhang et al., 2002; Wan et al., 2004; Kaku et al., 2006; and Libault et al., 2007.

Previous work has reported chitin recognition in rice and legumes. Stacey, G. and N. Shibuya, Plant and Soil 194: 161-169 (1997) The ability of Arabidopsis thaliana to recognize and respond to chitin has also been reported. A variety of genes have been shown to respond to chitin treatment. See e.g., Ramonell et al. Microarray analysis of chitin elicitation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mol. Plant. Pathol. 3 (1): 301-311 (2002) and Zhang et al., Characterization of Early, Chitin-Induced Gene Expression in Arabidopsis Mol. Plant-Microbe Int. 15: 963-970 (2002) and Wan et al., Activation of a potential mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in Arabidopsis by chitin. Mol. Plant. Pathol. 5(1): 125-135 (2004).

More specifically, chitin binding sites or proteins have been previously identified in membrane preparations of a variety of plant cells. Day et al., 2001; Ito et al., 1997; and Okada et al, 2002. More recently, a LysM domain-containing protein (CEBiP) has been shown to be involved in the binding and recognition of chitooligosaccharides in rice. Kaku et al., 2006. The LysM motif was originally identified in bacterial enzymes that degrade cell wall component peptidoglycan, which is structurally similar to chitin. Joris, 1992. Since CEBiP lacks a significant intracellular domain, it likely functions as part of a chitin receptor complex. Kaku et al., 2006. However, no such chitin receptor complexes have been identified.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure overcomes the problems outlined above and advances the art by providing methods to confer fungal resistance to plants. This disclosure addresses a new biotechnology-based approach to generate rust resistant soybean and to confer rust resistance upon soybean plants. The technology also involves the development and/or deployment of defense peptides against fungal pathogen, such as the Asian soybean rust fungus. The technology similarly applies to other pathogens in plants, such as the field bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) rust pathogen, Uromyces appendiculatus.

It is hereby disclosed a number of LysM-containing receptor like kinases (“LysM RLKs”) in soybean, as well as in other legume or non-legume plants. The lysine motif (LysM) domain is an ancient and ubiquitous protein module that binds peptidoglycan and structurally related molecules. A genomic survey in a large number of species spanning all kingdoms reveals that the combination of LysM and receptor kinase domains is present exclusively in plants. Table I lists a number of genes encoding LysM containing proteins from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, along with their accession numbers from GenBank or other databases. TABLE 1 LysM family genes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes LysM motif kingdom domain species name sources accession number >AGRT52b Bacteria Proteobacteria alpha- Argobacterium_tumefaciens_C58 UniProt/TrEMBL Q8UEQ5 proteobacteria >ANASP1 Bacteria Cyanobacteria Nostoc_PCC UniProt/TrEMBL Q8YRU0 >BACAN1a Bacteria Firmicutes Bacillus_anthracis UniProt/TrEMBL Q81WS5 >BACAN2b Bacteria Firmicutes Bacillus_anthracis UniProt/TrEMBL Q81Y89 >BACAN7 Bacteria Firmicutes Bacillus_anthracis UniProt/TrEMBL Q81SZ3 >BORPE5 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- bordetella_pertussis UniProt/TrEMBL Q7W0R5 proteobacteria >BORPE6 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- bordetella_pertussis UniProt/TrEMBL Q7VY72 proteobacteria >BRAJA1 Bacteria Proteobacteria alpha- Bradyrhizobium_japonicum UniProt/TrEMBL Q89Y08 proteobacteria >BRAJA2 Bacteria Proteobacteria alpha- Bradyrhizobium_japonicum UniProt/TrEMBL Q89XF2 proteobacteria >BURPS1 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- Burkholderia_pasudomallei_1710b UniProt/TrEMBL Q63LR7 proteobacteria >BURPS4 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- Burkholderia_pasudomallei_1710b UniProt/TrEMBL Q63TI4 proteobacteria >BURPS6a Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- Burkholderia_pasudomallei_1710b UniProt/TrEMBL Q63V96 proteobacteria >CHLAU2 Bacteria Chloroflexi Chloroflexus_aurantiacus UniProt/TrEMBL Q3E5J5 >ECOLI6 Bacteria Proteobacteria Gama- Escherichia_coli UniProt/TrEMBL P75954 proteobacteria >PELCD5a Bacteria Proteobacteria Delta- Pelobacter_carbinolicus_DSM UniProt/TrEMBL Q3A2X4 proteobacteria >RALSO3 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- Ralstonia_solanacearum UniProt/TrEMBL Q8Y0H0 proteobacteria >RALSO6 Bacteria Proteobacteria Beta- Ralstonia_solanacearum UniProt/TrEMBL Q8XZ88 proteobacteria >RHOPA4 Bacteria Proteobacteria Alpha- Rhodopseudomonas_palustris UniProt/TrEMBL Q379H8 proteobacteria >SALCH2 Bacteria Proteobacteria Gama- Salmonella_choleraesuis UniProt/TrEMBL Q5J4C2 proteobacteria >SALCH5 Bacteria Proteobacteria Gama- Salmonella_choleraesuis UniProt/TrEMBL Q57QE0 proteobacteria >STRCO4 Bacteria Firmicutes Actino- Streptomyces_coelicolor UniProt/TrEMBL Q9ACX5 bacteridae >VIBCH4 Bacteria Proteobacteria Gama- Vibrio_cholerae UniProt/TrEMBL Q9KNA7 proteobacteria >VIBCH5a Bacteria Proteobacteria Gama- Vibrio_cholerae UniProt/TrEMBL Q9KV14 proteobacteria >WOLSU1a Bacteria Proteobacteria Epsilon- wolinella_succinogenes UniProt/TrEMBL Q7M7V0 proteobacteria >WOLSU1b Bacteria Proteobacteria Epsilon- wolinella_succinogenes UniProt/TrEMBL Q7M7V0 proteobacteria >CAEEL1 Eukaryota Metazoa Nematoda Caenorhabditis_elegans UniProt/TrEMBL P90882 >CAEEL6 Eukaryota Metazoa Nematoda Caenorhabditis_elegans UniProt/TrEMBL Q93715 >CHLRE1 Eukaryota Chlorophyta Chlamydomonas_reinhardtii UniProt/TrEMBL Q9M5B9 >DICDI2 Eukaryota Mycetozoa Dictyosteliida Dictyostelium_discoideum UniProt/TrEMBL Q54BF7 >DROME10 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Drosophila_melanoqaster UniProt/TrEMBL Q9V4P7 >DROME9 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Drosophila_melanoqaster UniProt/TrEMBL Q9VNA1 >HUMAN1 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Homo_sapiens UniProt/TrEMBL Q5TF95 >HUMAN7 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Homo_sapiens UniProt/TrEMBL Q7Z3D4 >MOUSE5 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Mus_musculus UniProt/TrEMBL Q99LE3 >MOUSE9 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Mus_musculus UniProt/TrEMBL Q6DFV7 >XENLA5 Eukaryota Metazoa Chordata Xenopus_laevis UniProt/TrEMBL Q5BJ38 >AtLYK1b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g21630 >AtLYK1c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g21630 >AtLYK2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At3g01840 >AtLYK3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At1g51940 >AtLYK4a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g23770 >AtLYK4b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g23770 >AtLYK4c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g23770 >AtLYK5a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g33580 >AtLYK5c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g33580 >AtLYP1b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At1g21880 >AtLYP2a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At1g77630 >AtLYP3a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g17120 >AtLYP3b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At2g17120 >AtLysMe1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At3g52790 >AtLysMe2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At4g25433 >AtLysMe3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At5g62150 >AtLysMn1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At1g55000 >AtLysMn2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At5g08200 >AtLysMn3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Arabidopsis_thaliana TAIR At5g23130 >GmLYK10b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2080D08.12 >GmLYK10c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2080D08.12 >GmLYK11 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2042I24.15 >GmLYK2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2098N11.15 >GmLYK4b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2095P01.22 >GmLYK4c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2095P01.22 >GmLYK8a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2098N11.2 >GmLYK8b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2098N11.2 >GmLYK9b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2069O12.22 >GmLYK9c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study GmW2069O12.22 >GmLYP1b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLYP2a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLYP2b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLYP3a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLYP3b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMe1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMe2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMe3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMe4 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMn1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMn2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmLysMn3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max TIGR >GmNFR1ab Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study >GmNFR1ac Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study >GmNFR5aa Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study >GmNFR5ab Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study >GmNFR5ac Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Glycine_max this study >MtLYK10a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148994_13 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK10b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148994_13 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK10c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148994_13 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK12b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC126779_3 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK12c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC126779_3 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK13a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC126779_4 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK13b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC126779_4 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK3b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Gene Bank AY372402 >MtLYK3c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Gene Bank AY372402 >MtLYK9a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148241_11 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK9b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148241_11 truncatula sequencing resources >MtLYK9c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Medicago_truncatula Medicago AC148241_11 truncatula sequencing resources >OsLYK2b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g41980 >OsLYK2c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g41980 >OsLYK3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g41960 >OsLYK4b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os02g09960 >OsLYK4c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os02g09960 >OsLYK5a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os03g13080 >OsLYK5c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os03g13080 >OsLYK6a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os11g35330 >OsLYK6b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os11g35330 >OsLYK6c Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os11g35330 >OsLYP1b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os03g04110 >OsLYP2a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os09g37600 >OsLYP2b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os09g37600 >OsLYP3a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g10660 >OsLYP3b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g10660 >OsLYP5b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os02g53000 >OsLYP6a Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os11g34570 >OsLYP6b Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os11g34570 >OsLysMe1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os01g57390 >osLysMe2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os01g57400 >OsLysMe3 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os04g48380 >OsLysMn1 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os03g49250 >OsLysMn2 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Oryza_sativa TIGR LOC_Os06g51360 >PtLysMe4 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Populus_trichocarpa DOE JGI EUGENE3.00051310 >PtLysMe8 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Populus_trichocarpa DOE JGI EUGENE3.00070396 >PtLysMe9 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Populus_trichocarpa DOE JGI EUGENE3.00110096 >PtLysMe11 Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Populus_trichocarpa DOE JGI EUGENE3.00070285

In comparison to the LysM proteins in other kingdoms, plant LYK proteins possess unique features: (1) the combination of LysM and kinase domains exists exclusively in the plant lineage; (2) plant LYK proteins have no more than three LysM motifs; (3) if more than two LysM motifs exist within a single plant LYK protein, they are always distinct from each other at the protein sequence level; and (4) the LysM domain sequences in plant LYK proteins are highly diversified due to different combinations of heterogenous LysM motifs. Based on the sequence phylogenies, LysM motifs (named LYKa, LYKb, and LYKc from the N to the C terminus) in plant LYK proteins largely fall into five clades (FIG. 1A). This distribution of LysM motifs was found in all six plant species studied (i.e. LysM motifs from dicots and rice are clustered together in each clade, suggesting that the diversification event of plant LysM motifs predated the divergence of monocot and dicot plants).

The LysM motifs from non-kinase plant LysM proteins have also been investigated. These sequences have been retrieved using BLAST searches against genomic sequence databases of Arabidopsis, rice, and poplar and EST sequences of soybean. Based on their subcellular localization predictions and domain arrangements, non-kinase plant LysM proteins may be further categorized into three subgroups, including LysM-type receptor-like proteins (LYPs), extracellular LysM proteins (LysMe), and nonsecretory intracellular LysM proteins (LysMn; FIG. 1B). This grouping will be helpful in understanding the nature of each LysM protein and providing insightful clues to the biological functions.

FIG. 1B illustrates the general domain structure of different LysM containing proteins. As shown in FIG. 1B, LysM RLKs (also referred to as “LYK”) typically possess one or more LysM domains, a transmembrane domain and a kinase domain. The LysM domain is known for its capability to bind chitin. The transmembrane domain may serve to anchor the LysM RLKs in the membrane of the cells, whereas the kinase domain extends into the cytoplasm where it may phosphorylate specific substrates in the cell. In one embodiment, it is conceivable that the transmembrane domain of an LYK may be replaced with a different transmembrane domain from another LYK, or from another transmembrane protein,

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, LysM domains in plants are highly diversified and that at least six distinct types of LysM motifs exist in plant LysM kinase proteins, which are shown as Types I-V and VII in FIG. 1B. Five additional types of LysM motifs exist in non-kinase plant LysM proteins, designated as Types VI, VIII-XI as shown in FIG. 1B. See also Zhang et al., Plant Physiol. 144, 623-636 (2007), which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. FIG. 2 shows sequence alignment of representative LysM domains. FIG. 2A shows an alignment of 93 LysM-containing proteins in plants. Shaded areas indicate conserved residues in FIG. 2. FIG. 2B is an alignment of LysM domains from the LYK Group I, which contains LysM motif Types II and IV. FIG. 2C is an alignment of LysM domains from the LYK Group II, which contains LysM motif Types I, II and V. FIG. 2D is an alignment of LysM domains from the LYK Group III, which contains LysM motif Type VII. FIG. 2E is an alignment of LysM domains from the LYP group, which typically contains LysM motif Types VI and VII, or VI and VIII. See also FIG. 1B. FIG. 2F is an alignment of LysM domains from the LysMe group, which typically contains LysM motif Types IX or X. FIG. 2G is an alignment of LysM domains from the LysMn group, which typically contains LysM motif Type XI.

As predicted by Pfam, LYP proteins have exactly two LysM motifs and LysMe and LysMn proteins have only one LysM motif. Sequence alignments show that, among the 11 types of LysM motifs, motif sequences of LysMn (the motif within LysMn proteins, LysM motif type XI), one group of LysMe (the motif within LysMe proteins, LysM motif type X), and one group of LYPb (the second motif from the N terminus within LYP proteins, LysM motif VII) are extremely conserved. In these motifs, the amino acid identities averaged across the alignments are 91% for LysMe (type X), 86% for LysMn (type XI), and 75% for LYP (type VII). LysMn motif sequences always start with a His and end with a Pro. Similarly, LYPb motif sequences always end with a Pro. LYKa motifs are seven to 10 residues shorter.

In one aspect of this disclosure, soybean plants may be made resistant to soybean rust where no durable resistance is currently available. Certain soybean strains may be susceptible to rust diseases because they lack a functional signaling pathway that can perceive the existence of chitin or pass such a signal into the plant cell. Other strains may lack certain functional chitin responsive proteins and thus are not capable of mounting successful defenses against the invaders. It is hereby disclosed a methodology whereby a transgene encoding a component of the chitin signaling pathway may be introduced into a plant, such as a soybean plant. Expression of the transgene may enhance the perception of chitin by the transgenic plant, augment subsequent signaling that leads to gene activation inside the cells, and/or increase the capability of effector proteins in fighting the fungal pathogens.

In another aspect, mutations may be identified, induced or introduced into a plant, such as soybean, in order to obtain a mutant plant that have enhanced chitin perception or response. Certain mutations in LysM RLKs may enhance recognition of chitin by plant cells, whereas some other mutations in LysM RLKs may abolish chitin recognition. Similar situations may apply to other protein involved in fungal defense, including but not limited to the CRGs. The polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein may aid identification, mapping and/or genetic analysis of such mutants.

In one embodiment, a transgenic plant may be prepared by identifying in a plant one or more genes that contain a LysM receptor kinase family gene with a level of expression that is regulated by treatment of the plant with chitin. Such a plant may then be transformed with one or more LysM receptor kinase genes. The resulting transgenic plant may be challenged with chitin, its derivatives, or a pathogen to confirm an enhanced plant defense response, if desired.

The same general techniques disclosed herein may be employed in plants other than soybean to help create strains that are resistant to fungal infection. Different plants may be used to effect the transformation, such as soybean, Arabidopsis thaliana, or others. For instance, genes identified in one species may be introduced into another species in order to obtain transgenic plants that have enhanced fungal defense.

In yet another embodiment, a gene which belongs to the LysM receptor kinase family may be knocked out. Alternatively, a LysM receptor kinase family gene may be overexpressed. The resultant mutant plants may exhibit improved plant defense responses when challenged with chitin or its derivatives, for example, by spraying the leaves with chitin, or when challenged with a chitin-expressing organism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the eleven distinct types of LysM motifs in plants. (A) The evolutionary relationships of plant LysM motifs. (B) Subcellular localization and LysM domain structures of LysM proteins in plants.

FIG. 2 shows a sequence comparison of various plant LysM sequences that were obtained by computerized searching.

FIG. 3 presents experimental results showing enhanced expression of the defense genes PR1 and PR-2 in the LysM receptor kinase mutant L3.

FIG. 4A shows an improved defense response of the L3 mutant to infection by the necotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea.

FIG. 4B shows an improved defense response of the L3 mutant to infection by Pseudomonas syringae.

FIG. 5 shows a model of the involvement of the LysM receptor kinases in plant defense.

FIG. 6 shows that the knockout of the AtLysM RLK1 gene blocks the induction of the selected chitooligosaccharide-responsive genes (CRGs).

FIG. 7 shows disruption of the AtLysM RLK1 gene expression by the T-DNA insertions. WT=Wild-type Col-0; Mu=AtLysM RLK1 mutant. Actin-2 was used as an internal control.

FIG. 8 shows restoration of CRGs in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant by the ectopic expression of the AtLysM RLK1 gene. Actin-2 serves as an internal control.

FIG. 9 shows the tissue expression pattern of the AtLysM RLK1 gene. Actin-2 serves as an internal control.

FIG. 10 shows that AtLysM RLK1 is induced by chitooligosaccharides, but not by the flagellin-derived flg22 peptide.

FIG. 11 shows that the T-DNA insertions in the AtLysM RLK1 gene block the induction of virtually all CRGs.

FIG. 12 shows the functional categorization by annotations of 909 CRGs-GO Biological Process.

FIG. 13 shows that the AtLysM RLK1 mutant is more susceptible to fungal pathogens than wild-type plants and that exogenously applied chitooligosaccharides enhances resistance in the wild-type plants, but not in the mutant.

FIG. 14 shows that the selected CRGs are still induced in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant by a fungal pathogen, but to a reduced level.

FIG. 15 shows that mutations in the legume Nod signal receptor genes NFR1 and NFR5 do not affect the induction of the selected CRGs in Lotus japonicus.

FIG. 16 shows that the mutation in the AtLysM RLK1 gene does not affect other defense-related pathways.

FIG. 17 shows that the AtLysM RLK1 mutation does not block the induction of flagellin-responsive genes.

FIG. 18 shows similarity between the LysM receptor kinase-like genes in a variety of plants.

FIG. 19 shows the expression analysis of GmLysM receptor-like kinases in response to white-mold pathogen.

FIG. 20 shows the expression analysis of GmLysM receptor-like kinases in chitin-treated leaves.

FIG. 21 shows the results of tissue-specific expression analysis of LysM receptor-like kinases in soybean, M. truncatula, and rice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to aid those skilled in the art in practicing the present instrumentalities. Even so, this detailed description should not be construed to unduly limit the present invention as modifications and variations in the embodiments discussed herein can be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the present inventive discovery.

LysM domain-containing receptor-like kinases (“LysM RLKs,” “LYK” or “LysM receptor kinase family proteins”), such as NFR1 and NFR5 in legumes, have been shown to be critical for the perception of modified chitooligosaccharides—Nod signals—in the legume-rhizobial symbiotic nodulation process. See Limpens et al., 2003; Madsen et al., 2003; and Radutoiu et al., 2003. Similar LysM receptor kinase family genes (or LysM RLK genes) are also present in non-leguminous plants. Zhang et al., 2007. For example, five LysM RLK genes have been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. LysM domain-containing proteins are also found in animals but LysM RLKs appear to be unique to plants. Zhang et al., 2007.

For purpose of this disclosure, a “LysM receptor kinase family gene” (LysM RLK gene) is any gene that encodes a protein with at least a Lysine motif (LysM) domain, a kinase domain and a transmembrane domain between the LysM and the kinase domain as shown in FIG. 1. In one aspect, the kinase domain is a serine/threonine kinase domain. A gene may be shown to belong to different subfamilies of LysM genes by sequence comparison with a known LysM gene, as exemplified by the sequence alignment of different LysM containing proteins in FIG. 2. This classification may be decided by a predetermined level of sequence identity in one or more functional domains of a known LysM receptor kinase, such as 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% 99% or 100% sequence identity with respect to a functional domain or an entire coding sequence.

Two sequences may be said to have “substantial sequence similarity” when they have a degree of sequence identity that persons of ordinary skill in the art may expect them to provide similar functionality; or in some cases, a person of skills in the art may expect individual domains within the sequences to possess similar functionality due to the sequence similarity. As measured by computer algorithms that are designed to quantitate sequence identity or similarity, this may be at least 70% identity, or more preferably, this may be any value from 90% and up, such as 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identity, with 100% identity being an exact match. When two sequences are of different length, the sequence identity refers to cumulative sequence identity between those segments of both sequences that when aligned generate the best possible matches of individual residues throughout the full length of the sequences. In general, higher sequence similarity between two sequences indicates that the two sequences are more likely to perform similar, if not identical function.

The term CRGs (or CRG) refers to genes that may be activated upon perception of chitin or its derivatives by plant cells. Examples of CRGs may include MPK3, WRKY22, WRKY29, WRKY33, WRKY53 and any other genes whose expression levels may be up- or down-regulated when the cells are exposed to chitin or its derivatives. In one embodiment, genetic engineering may be used to render certain CRGs constitutively expressed, or, more preferably, expression of CRGs may be placed under control of certain regulatory elements such that CRG proteins may be expressed before fungi have been detected by the plant.

Under certain circumstances, it may be desirable to generate mutations in the coding sequence of certain genes, such as the LYK genes or CRGs. One of skills in the art may recognize that certain sequence variations may not significantly affect the functionality of a DNA or RNA molecule, or a protein. For instance, one may align and compare the sequences of the LYK family genes, as shown in FIG. 2, to determine which residues may be less conservative than others. The term “conservative” is used to depict those nucleotide or amino acid residues that have not undergone significant changes over the course of evolution. The conservative residues are typically shown as matching residues in a multi-sequence alignment. Guided by such an alignment, one may substitute those residues that are less conservative without compromising the functionality of the genes, RNAs, or proteins. Such manipulations of polynucleotide or polypeptide molecules are within the scope of this disclosure.

A “functional” LysM receptor kinase refers to a protein encoded by one of the LysM receptor kinase family genes that is capable of performing the full function that is typically performed by other LysM receptor kinase family proteins.

“Secretion sequence” means a sequence that directs newly synthesized secretory or membrane proteins to and through membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, or from the cytoplasm to the periplasm across the inner membrane of bacteria, or from the matrix of mitochondria into the inner space, or from the stroma of chloroplasts into the thylakoid. Fusion of such a sequence to a gene that is to be expressed in a heterologous host ensures secretion of the recombinant protein from the host cell.

A “recombinant polynucleotide” means a polynucleotide that is free of one or both of the nucleotide sequences which flank the polynucleotide in the naturally-occurring genome of the organism from which the polynucleotide is derived. The term includes, for example, a polynucleotide or fragment thereof that is incorporated into a vector or expression cassette; into an autonomously replicating plasmid or virus; into the genomic DNA of a prokaryote or eukaryote; or that exists as a separate molecule independent of other polynucleotides. It also includes a recombinant polynucleotide that is part of a hybrid polynucleotide, for example, one encoding a polypeptide sequence.

“PCR” means polymerase chain reaction.

As used herein “polynucleotide” and “oligonucleotide” are used interchangeably and refer to a polymeric (2 or more monomers) form of nucleotides of any length, either ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides. Although nucleotides are usually joined by phosphodiester linkages, the term also includes polymeric nucleotides containing neutral amide backbone linkages composed of aminoethyl glycine units. This term refers only to the primary structure of the molecule. Thus, this term includes double- and single-stranded DNA and RNA. It also includes known types of modifications, for example, labels, methylation, “caps”, substitution of one or more of the naturally occurring nucleotides with an analog, internucleotide modifications such as, for example, those with uncharged linkages (e.g., methyl phosphonates, phosphotriesters, phosphoamidates, carbamates, etc.), those containing pendant moieties, such as, for example, proteins (including for e.g., nucleases, toxins, antibodies, signal peptides, poly-L-lysine, etc.), those with intercalators (e.g., acridine, psoralen, etc.), those containing chelators (e.g., metals, radioactive metals, boron, oxidative metals, etc.), those containing alkylators, those with modified linkages (e.g., alpha anomeric nucleic acids, etc.), as well as unmodified forms of the polynucleotide. Polynucleotides include both sense and antisense strands.

“Sequence” means the linear order in which monomers occur in a polymer, for example, the order of amino acids in a polypeptide or the order of nucleotides in a polynucleotide.

“Peptide,” “Protein” and “Polypeptide” are used interchangeably and mean a compound that consists of two or more amino acids that are linked by means of peptide bonds.

“Recombinant protein” means that the protein, whether comprising a native or mutant primary amino acid sequence, is obtained by expression of a gene carried by a recombinant DNA molecule in a cell other than the cell in which that gene and/or protein is naturally found. In other words, the gene is heterologous to the host in which it is expressed. It should be noted that any alteration of a gene, including the addition of a polynucleotide encoding an affinity purification moiety, makes that gene unnatural for the purposes of this definition, and thus that gene cannot be “naturally” found in any cell.

A “non-immunoglobulin peptide” means a peptide which is not an immunoglobulin, a recognized region of an immunoglobulin, or contains a region of an immunoglobulin. For example, a single chain variable region of an immunoglobulin would be excluded from this definition.

“Substantially pure” or “substantially purified” means that the substance is free from other contaminating proteins, nucleic acids, and other biologicals derived from the original source organism. Purity may be assayed by standard methods, and will ordinarily be at least about 40% pure, more ordinarily at least about 50% pure, generally at least about 60% pure, more generally at least about 70% pure, often at least about 75% pure, more often at least about 80% pure, typically at least about 85% pure, more typically at least about 90% pure, preferably at least about 95% pure, more preferably at least about 98% pure, and in even more preferred embodiments, at least 99% pure. The analysis may be weight or molar percentages, evaluated, e.g., by gel staining, spectrophotometry, or terminus labeling etc.

A “transgene” refers to a coding sequence that has been introduced into a host organism, which may be referred to as a transgenic organism, e.g., a transgenic animal, or a transgenic plant, when the transgene has been successfully introduced into said organism. Typically, a transgene is introduced into a host organism so that the coding sequence may be transcribed into RNA or, in most cases, be further expressed as a polypeptide. The introduction of a transgene into a host organism and subsequent expression of the transgene is generally known as a transgenic process. A transgenic plant may refer to a whole plant, or a tissue of a plant, such as a seed, that contains a transgene and has a potential to be grow into a plant.

A “mutation,” as used herein, means a change in the nucleotide sequence of a polynucleotide molecule or a change in the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide. The molecule carrying such a change may be referred to as a mutant molecule, and the change is typically measured by comparing the sequence of the mutant molecule with that of the polynucleotide or polypeptide molecule from which the mutant molecule is derived. An organism with a mutation in one of its endogenous genes may be called a mutant.

A mutation in a gene may occur on either the coding region or the non-coding region of the gene. A mutated copy of a gene may be said to be “derived” from a endogenous copy of the same gene when one or more spontaneous or induced mutations occur on an endogenous gene, at which point the endogenous gene becomes a mutated gene because it is no longer the same as the original wild-type gene. The resultant organism may be called a mutant.

In one aspect, the polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein, including but not limited to LysM receptor kinase family genes and various CRGs, may be used to identify those mutants with mutations in one of the LysM receptor kinase family genes. For instance, a large number of mutants may be generated by either spontaneous or induced mutation. These mutants may be screened to identify those mutations that occur in one of the LysM receptor kinase family genes. Suitable methods for such a screening may include, for example, PCR, sequencing, or hybridization.

In another aspect, these polynucleotide sequences, including but not limited to LysM receptor kinase family genes and various CRGs, may also be used to design DNA construct for targeted insertion, deletion, or substitution of a specific LysM receptor kinase family gene. For instance, a DNA fragment may be first inserted into the coding region of a LysM receptor kinase family gene, the construct thus obtained may then be introduced into a host to create an insertional mutant by homologous recombination.

The traits of a plant may be modified. A modified plant may be coconsidered “fungal resistant” if the chance of a plant becoming infected by a specific fungal pathogen is at least 30% less than that of a wild-type plant from which the modified plant is derived.

A molecule is “endogenous” to an organism if the molecule exists or is encoded by a molecule that exists in the organism without requiring a transgenic process. For purpose of this disclosure, the terms “expression” and “express” refer to transcription of DNA into RNA, or translation of RNA into protein, or both.

Besides null mutation that renders a protein completely non-functional, a mutation may also render a protein dominant negative when it only abolishes partial function of a protein. The resultant partially functioning protein may act as a “dominant negative” protein when it continues to perform the remaining function. For example, a mutated protein may continue to bind a co-factor without activating that co-factor because the activation function has been lost. When such a mutated protein is expressed in a cell, it binds to many co-factors without activating them, thus rendering them unavailable for the wild-type protein. In this situation, the mutant protein is said to be acting in a dominant negative fashion.

The term “knocking out” or “knock out” means rendering a gene non-functional. “Knocking down” means lowering the expression levels of a gene or decrease the relative activity of the encoded protein. A gene can be knocked out or knocked down through deletion, insertion, substitution of a fragment or a residue in the coding region or in the regulatory regions of a gene.

Within the scope of the disclosed instrumentalities are recombinant oligonucleotides encoding peptides having antifungal activity. These recombinant oligonucleotides can be used to produce recombinant polynucleotides which are commonly used as cloning or expression vectors although other uses are possible. A cloning vector is a self-replicating DNA molecule that serves to transfer a DNA segment into a host cell. The three most common types of cloning vectors are bacterial plasmids, phages, and other viruses. An expression vector is a cloning vector designed so that a coding sequence inserted at a particular site will be transcribed and translated into a protein.

Both cloning and expression vectors may contain nucleotide sequences that allow the vectors to replicate in one or more suitable host cells. In cloning vectors, this sequence is generally one that enables the vector to replicate independently of the host cell chromosomes, and also includes either origins of replication or autonomously replicating sequences. Various bacterial and viral origins of replication are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to the pBR322 plasmid origin, the 2μ plasmid origin, and the SV40, polyoma, adenovirus, VSV and BPV viral origins. An expression vector may contain an origin of replication so that it can be replicated independently from the host's chromosome. More preferably, an expression vector carrying the transgene of interest may have a means by which the DNA fragment containing the transgene may be integrated onto a chromosome of the host plant and thus may be replicated along with the host chromosomes.

The polynucleotide sequences of the present disclosure may be used to produce antifungal peptides by the use of recombinant expression vectors containing the polynucleotide sequence disclosed herein. For purpose of this disclosure, antifungal peptides may mean polypeptides or fragments thereof that may help prevent fungal infection of a plant. Examples of antifungal peptides may include but not limited to polypeptides encoded by the LysM receptor kinase genes or the CRGs. In one embodiment, these antifungal peptide may be expressed in vitro and be applied onto a plant or be injected into a plant to achieve the desired antifungal effects. Suitable expression vectors include chromosomal, non-chromosomal and synthetic DNA sequences, for example, SV 40 derivatives; bacterial plasmids; phage DNA; baculovirus; yeast plasmids; vectors derived from combinations of plasmids and phage DNA; and viral DNA such as vaccinia, adenovirus, fowl pox virus, and pseudorabies. In addition, any other vector that is replicable and viable in the host may be used. Suitable host for in vitro expression may include bacterial, yeast, plant or insect cells, among others.

The nucleotide sequence of interest may be inserted into the vector by a variety of methods. In the most common method the sequence is inserted into an appropriate restriction endonuclease site(s) using procedures commonly known to those skilled in the art and detailed in, for example, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Cold Spring Harbor Press, (1989) and Ausubel et al., Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons (1992).

In an expression vector, the sequence of interest may be operably linked to a suitable regulatory elements, including but not limited to a promoter or a enhancer, that may be recognized by the host cell to direct mRNA synthesis. Promoters generally refer to untranslated sequences located upstream from the start codon of a structural gene that regulate the transcription and translation of nucleic acid sequences under their control. Promoters may be classified as either inducible or constitutive promoters. Inducible promoters are promoters that initiate increased levels of transcription from DNA under their control in response to some change in the environment, e.g. the presence or absence of a nutrient or a change in temperature. Constitutive promoters, in contrast, maintain a relatively constant level of transcription.

A nucleic acid sequence is operably linked when it is placed into a functional relationship with another nucleic acid sequence. For example, DNA for a presequence or secretory leader is operatively linked to DNA for a polypeptide if it is expressed as a preprotein which participates in the secretion of the polypeptide; a promoter is operably linked to a coding sequence if it affects the transcription of the sequence; or a ribosome binding site is operably linked to a coding sequence if it is positioned so as to facilitate translation. Generally, operably linked sequences are contiguous and, in the case of a secretory leader, contiguous and in reading phase. Linking is achieved by ligation at restriction enzyme sites. If suitable restriction sites are not available, then synthetic oligonucleotide adapters or linkers can be used as is known to those skilled in the art. Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Cold Spring Harbor Press, (1989) and Ausubel et al., Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons (1992).

Common promoters used in expression vectors include, but are not limited to, LTR or SV40 promoter, the E. coli lac or trp promoters, and the phage lambda PL promoter. Useful inducible plant promoters include heat-shock promoters (Ou-Lee et al. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 6815; Ainley et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 14: 949), a nitrate-inducible promoter derived from the spinach nitrite reductase gene (Back et al. (1991)Plant Mol. Biol. 17: 9), hormone-inducible promoters (Yamaguchi-Shinozaki et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 15: 905; Kares et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 15: 905), and light-inducible promoters associated with the small subunit of RuBP carboxylase and LHCP gene families (Kuhlemeier et al. (1989) Plant Cell 1: 471; Feinbaum et al. (1991) Mol. Gen. Genet. 226: 449; Weisshaar et al. (1991) EMBO J. 10: 1777; Lam and Chua (1990) Science 248: 471; Castresana et al. (1988) EMBO J. 7: 1929; Schulze-Lefeit et al. (1989) EMBO J. 8: 651). Other promoters known to control the expression of genes in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells can be used and are known to those skilled in the art. Expression vectors may also contain a ribosome binding site for translation initiation, and a transcription terminator. The vector may also contain sequences useful for the amplification of gene expression.

Expression and cloning vectors can, and usually do, contain a selection gene or selection marker. Typically, this gene encodes a protein necessary for the survival or growth of the host cell transformed with the vector. Examples of suitable markers include dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) or neomycin resistance for eukaryotic cells and tetracycline or ampicillin resistance for E. coli. Selection markers in plants include resistance to bleomycin, gentamycin, glyphosate, hygromycin, kanamycin, methotrexate, phleomycin, phosphinotricin, spectinomycin, streptomycin, sulfonamide and sulfonylureas. Maliga et al., Methods in Plant Molecular Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1995, p. 39.

In addition, expression vectors can also contain marker sequences operatively linked to a nucleotide sequence for a protein that encode an additional protein used as a marker. The result is a hybrid or fusion protein comprising two linked and different proteins. The marker protein can provide, for example, an immunological or enzymatic marker for the recombinant protein produced by the expression vector. Suitable markers include, but are not limited to, alkaline phosphatase (AP), myc, hemagglutinin (HA), β-glucuronidase (GUS), luciferase, and green fluorescent protein (GFP).

The polynucleotide sequences of the present disclosure may also be part of an expression cassette that at a minimum comprises, operably linked in the 5′ to 3′ direction, a regulatory sequence such as a promoter, a polynucleotide encoding a peptide of the present disclosure, and a transcriptional termination signal sequence functional in a host cell. The promoter can be of any of the types discussed herein, for example, a tissue specific promoter, a developmentally regulated promoter, an organelle specific promoter, a seed specific promoter, a plastid specific promoter, etc. The expression cassette can further comprise an operably linked targeting, transit, or secretion peptide coding region capable of directing transport of the protein produced. The expression cassette can also further comprise a nucleotide sequence encoding a selectable marker and/or a purification moiety.

More particularly, the present disclosure includes recombinant constructs comprising an isolated polynucleotide sequence encoding the antifungal peptides of the present disclosure. The constructs can include a vector, such as a plasmid or viral vector, into which the sequence has been inserted, either in the forward or reverse orientation. The recombinant construct can further comprise regulatory sequences, including, for example, a promoter operatively linked to the sequence. Large numbers of suitable vectors and promoters are known to those skilled in the art and are commercially available.

Different domains from different LysM RLKs may be combined to obtain chimeric proteins. Such a chimeric protein may possess a number of desirable properties that are not otherwise exhibited by one single protein that naturally exist in plants. Such desirable properties may include but are not limited to increased sensibility to chitin and its derivatives, increased kinase activity or enhanced kinase specificity.

A further embodiment of the present disclosure relates to transformed host cells containing constructs comprising the oligonucleotide sequences of the present disclosure. For instance, various combination of the LysM RLK genes, in wild-type or mutated forms, may be introduced as transgenes into a host plant, such as soybean. In a preferred embodiment, the host plants is susceptible to fungal infection and the expression of the LysM RLK transgenes may confer certain degree of fungal resistance to the host. In addition to the LysM RLK genes, the transgenes may include other genes that may play a role in fungal defense, such as any of the CRGs whose forced expression may enhance the host's capability to defend against fungal pathogens.

The host cell can be a higher eukaryotic cell, such as a mammalian or plant cell, or a lower eukaryotic cell such as a yeast cell, or the host can be a prokaryotic cell such as a bacterial cell. Introduction of the construct into the host cell can be accomplished by a variety of methods including calcium phosphate transfection, DEAE-dextran mediated transfection, Polybrene, protoplast fusion, liposomes, direct microinjection into the nuclei, scrape loading, and electroporation. In plants, a variety of different methods can be employed to introduce transformation/expression vectors into plant protoplasts, cells, callus tissue, leaf discs, meristems, etc., to generate transgenic plants. These methods include, for example, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, particle gun delivery, microinjection, electroporation, polyethylene glycol-mediated protoplast transformation, liposome-mediated transformation, etc. (reviewed in Potrykus (1991) Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 42: 205).

Peptides produced by expression of the polynucleotides of the present disclosure can be obtained by transforming a host cell by any of the previously described methods, growing the host cell under appropriate conditions, inducing expression of the polynucleotide and isolating the protein(s) of interest. If the protein in retained within the host cell, the protein can be obtained by lysis of the host cells, while if the protein is a secreted protein, it can be isolated from the culture medium. Several methods are available for purification of proteins and are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. These include precipitation by, for example, ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography, lectin chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrophoresis under native or denaturing conditions, isoelectric focusing, and immunoprecipitation.

Alternatively, peptides encoded by the polynucleotides of the present disclosure can be produced by chemical synthesis using either solid-phase peptide synthesis or by classical solution peptide synthesis also known as liquid-phase peptide synthesis. In oligomer-supported liquid phase synthesis, the growing product is attached to a large soluble polymeric group. The product from each step of the synthesis can then be separated from unreacted reactants based on the large difference in size between the relatively large polymer-attached product and the unreacted reactants. This permits reactions to take place in homogeneous solutions, and eliminates tedious purification steps associated with traditional liquid phase synthesis. Oligomer-supported liquid phase synthesis has also been adapted to automatic liquid phase synthesis of peptides.

For solid-phase peptide synthesis, the procedure entails the sequential assembly of the appropriate amino acids into a peptide of a desired sequence while the end of the growing peptide is linked to an insoluble support. Usually, the carboxyl terminus of the peptide is linked to a polymer from which it can be liberated upon treatment with a cleavage reagent. In a common method, an amino acid is bound to a resin particle, and the peptide generated in a stepwise manner by successive additions of protected amino acids to produce a chain of amino acids. Modifications of the technique described by Merrifield are commonly used (see, e.g., Merrifield, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 96: 2989-93, 1964). In an automated solid-phase method, peptides are synthesized by loading the carboxy-terminal amino acid onto an organic linker (e.g., PAM, 4-oxymethylphenylacetamidomethyl), which is covalently attached to an insoluble polystyrene resin cross-linked with divinyl benzene. The terminal amine may be protected by blocking with t-butyloxycarbonyl. Hydroxyl- and carboxyl-groups are commonly protected by blocking with O-benzyl groups. Synthesis is accomplished in an automated peptide synthesizer, a number of which are commercially available. Following synthesis, the product may be removed from the resin. The blocking groups are removed typically by using hydrofluoric acid or trifluoromethyl sulfonic acid according to established methods (e.g., Bergot and McCurdy, Applied Biosystems Bulletin, 1987). Following cleavage and purification, a yield of approximately 60 to 70% is typically produced. Purification of the product peptides is accomplished by, for example, crystallizing the peptide from an organic solvent such as methyl-butyl ether, then dissolving in distilled water, and using dialysis (if the molecular weight of the subject peptide is greater than about 500 daltons) or reverse high-pressure liquid chromatography (e.g., using a C18 column with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile as solvents) if the molecular weight of the peptide is less than 500 daltons. Purified peptide may be lyophilized and stored in a dry state until use. Analysis of the resulting peptides may be accomplished using the common methods of analytical high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS).

In general, transgenic plants comprising cells containing polynucleotides of the present disclosure can be produced by any of the foregoing methods; selecting plant cells that have been transformed on a selective medium; regenerating plant cells that have been transformed to produce differentiated plants; and selecting a transformed plant that expresses the protein(s) encoded by the polynucleotides of the present disclosure at a desired level.

Specific methods for transforming a wide variety of dicots and obtaining transgenic plants are well documented in the literature (Gasser and Fraley, Science 244:1293, 1989; Fisk and Dandekar, Scientia Horticulturae 55:5, 1993; Dandekar and Fisk, Plant transformation: agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Methods Mol. Biol. 2005; 286:35-46; Olhoft P M, Donovan C M, Somers D A, Soybean (Glycine max) transformation using mature cotyledonary node explants, Methods Mol. Biol. 2006; 343:385-96; Ko T S, Korban S S, Somers D A, Soybean (Glycine max) transformation using immature cotyledon explants, Methods Mol. Biol. 2006; 343:397-405; and all references cited therein).

Successful transformation and plant regeneration have also been achieved in a variety of monocots. Specific examples are as follows: asparagus (Asparagus officinalis; Bytebier et al. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 5345); barley (Hordeum vulgarae; Wan and Lemaux (1994) Plant Physiol. 104: 37); maize (Zea mays; Rhodes et al. (1988) Science 240: 204; Gordon-Kamm et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 603; Fromm et al. (1990) Bio/Technology 8: 833; Koziel et al. (1993) Bio/Technology 11: 194); oats (Avena sativa; Somers et al. (1992) Bio/Technology 10: 1589); orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata; Horn et al. (1988) Plant Cell Rep. 7: 469); rice (Oryza sativa, including indica and japonica varieties; Toriyama et al. (1988) Bio/Technology 6: 10; Zhang et al. (1988) Plant Cell Rep. 7: 379; Luo and Wu (1988) Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 6: 165; Zhang and Wu (1988) Theor. Appl. Genet. 76: 835; Christou et al. (1991) Bio/Technology 9: 957); rye (Secale cereale; De la Pena et al. (1987) Nature 325: 274); sorghum (Sorghum bicolor; Cassas et al. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 11212); sugar cane (Saccharum spp.; Bower and Birch (1992) Plant J. 2: 409); tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea; Wang et al. (1992) Bio/Technology 10: 691); turfgrass (Agrostis palustris; Zhong et al. (1993) Plant Cell Rep. 13: 1); and wheat (Triticum aestivum; Vasil et al. (1992) Bio/Technology 10: 667; Weeks et al. (1993) Plant Physiol. 102: 1077; Becker et al. (1994) Plant J. 5: 299). All these references relate to transformation techniques in dicots or monocots and are hereby expressly incorporated into this disclosure by reference.

Various LysM RLK genes show tissue specific expression in plants. Tissue specific promoters or other regulatory elements may play a role in controlling these tissue specific expression patterns. DNA recombination utilizing these regulatory elements may be employed to manipulate the expression pattern and/or levels of the various LysM RLK genes, or other genes in general. For instance, expression construct containing a tissue specific promoter may be used to drive the expression of a LysM RLK which is not otherwise expressed in the particular tissue.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are intended to provide illustrations of the application of the present disclosure. The following examples are not intended to completely define or otherwise limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1 Plant LysM Domains are Highly Diversified

The sequences of NFR1 (SEQ ID No. 1) and NFR5 (SEQ ID No. 2) genes from Lotus japonicus, as reported by Radutoiu et al. (2003) were used to identify genes encoding LysM domain-containing proteins by searching public databases of Arabidopsis, rice, poplar, M. truncatula, and L. japonicus. Soybean LYK genes were identified by shotgun sequencing bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) with homologies to LysM-encoding ESTs. The resulting putative LYK protein sequences from all species were then searched against the Pfam server to verify LysM and kinase domains. Collectively, a total of 49 LYK genes were identified in the six plant genomes, namely, those of Arabidopsis, rice, poplar, M. truncatula, L. japonicus and soybean, as summarized in Table 2. The predicted amino acid sequences of these genes or fragments were obtained and compared by sequence alignment, with representative alignments shown in FIG. 2. TABLE 2 LysM type receptor-like kinase genes from Arabidopsis, soybean, Lotus, Medicago, rice and poplar. Name (SEQ ID No.) Alias name Sources AtLYK1 (SEQ ID No. 3) At3g21630 TAIR AtLYK2 (SEQ ID No. 4) At3g01840 TAIR AtLYK3 (SEQ ID No. 5) At1g51940 TAIR AtLYK4 (SEQ ID No. 6) At2g23770 TAIR AtLYK5 (SEQ ID No. 7) At2g33580 TAIR GmNFR1α (SEQ ID 54) GmW2098N11.16 this study GmNFR1β (SEQ ID 55) GmW2098N15.9 this study GmLYK2 (SEQ ID 56) GmW2098N11.15 this study GmLYK3 (SEQ ID 57) GmW2026N19.18 this study GmLYK4 (SEQ ID 58) GmW2095P01.22 this study GmNFR5α (SEQ ID 59) GmW2035N07.17 this study GmNFR5β (SEQ ID 60) GmW2095P01.23 this study GmLYK6 (SEQ ID 61) GmW2075N23 this study GmLYK7 (SEQ ID 62) GmW2035N07.16 this study GmLYK8 (SEQ ID 63) GmW2098N11.2 this study GmLYK9 (SEQ ID 64) GmW2069O12.22 this study GmLYK10 (SEQ ID 65) GmW2080D08.12 this study GmLYK11 (SEQ ID 66) GmW2042I24.15 this study LjNFR1 (SEQ ID 1) AJ575248 Gene Bank LjLYK2 (SEQ ID 67) TM0545.8 Kazusa LjLYK3 (SEQ ID 68) TM0545.9 Kazusa LjLYK4 (SEQ ID 69) TM0522.16 Kazusa LjNFR5 (SEQ ID 2) AJ575255 Gene Bank LjLYK6 (SEQ ID 70) TM0076a.10 Kazusa MtLYK1 (SEQ ID 71) CR936945.12 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources MtLYK3 (SEQ ID 72) AY372402 Gene Bank MtLYK4 (SEQ ID 73) AY372403 Gene Bank MtLYK9 (SEQ ID 74) AC148241_11 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources MtLYK10 (SEQ ID 75) AC148994_13 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources MtLYK11 (SEQ ID 76) AC148994_15 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources MtLYK12 (SEQ ID 77) AC126779_3 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources MtLYK13 (SEQ ID 78) AC126779_4 Medicago truncatula sequencing resources OsLYK1 (SEQ ID 79) LOC_Os01g36550 TIGR OsLYK2 (SEQ ID 80) LOC_Os06g41980 TIGR OsLYK3 (SEQ ID 81) LOC_Os06g41960 TIGR OsLYK4 (SEQ ID 82) LOC_Os02g09960 TIGR OsLYK5 (SEQ ID 83) LOC_Os03g13080 TIGR OsLYK6 (SEQ ID 84) LOC_Os11g35330 TIGR PtLYK1 (SEQ ID 85) FGENESH1_PG.C_LG_VIII001701 DOE JGI PtLYK2 (SEQ ID 86) FGENESH1_PG.C_LG_VII000997 DOE JGI PtLYK3 (SEQ ID 87) EUGENE3.00051645 DOE JGI PtLYK4 (SEQ ID 88) EUGENE3.00081504 DOE JGI PtLYK5 (SEQ ID 89) EUGENE3.00400189 DOE JGI PtLYK6 (SEQ ID 90) GRAIL3.0019013601 DOE JGI PtLYK7 (SEQ ID 91) GRAIL3.0017002501 DOE JGI PtLYK8 (SEQ ID 92) FGENESH1_PM.C_LG_I000490 DOE JGI PtLYK9 (SEQ ID 93) EUGENE3.00570233 DOE JGI PtLYK10 (SEQ ID 94) EUGENE3.00100714 DOE JGI PtLYK11 (SEQ ID 95) eugene3.00570235 DOE JGI

More specifically, plant LysM protein sequences were first searched using the keyword LysM and BLASTp (1e-20) using the LysM domains of LjNFR1 (SEQ ID No. 1) and LjNFR5 (SEQ ID No. 2) against the following publicly available databases: Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana, database maintained by the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Plant Biology); rice (Oryza sativa, database maintained by the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)); poplar (Popillis spp., database maintained by DOE's Joint Genome Institute); Medicago truncatula, database maintained by the lab of Nevin Young at the University of Minnesota); and Lotus japonicus (database maintained by the Kazusa DNA Research Institute in Japan. Domain structures of the resulting potential LysM proteins were analyzed with Pfam software and Inter-ProScan to identify LysM proteins. Soybean (Glycine max) LysM proteins were searched via tBLASTn (1e-5) using the same query sequences as above against two publicly available EST databases, one maintained by the Institute for Genomic Research, the other maintained by Monsanto.

Primers were designed based on the resulting soybean EST sequences to probe a six-dimensional BAC pool for LysM-containing BACs via a PCR-based approach. The probed LYK-containing BACs were verified and shotgun sequenced to either finished phase (phase 3) at the Arizona Genome Sequencing Center or prefinished phase (phase 2) at the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center. BAC sequences were annotated using the dicot species model and Arabidopsis matrix of FGENESH. Annotated proteins were similarly analyzed to screen for LYK proteins. Signal peptides and transmembrane domains were predicted with SignalP using both nearest-neighbor and hidden Markov model (HMM) algorithms and transmembrane HMM, respectively.

The GenBank accession numbers of soybean BACs are EF533702 for GMWb098N11; EF533695 for GMWb098N15; EF533696 for GMWb026N19; EF533701 for GMWb095P01; EF533697 for GMWb035N07; EF533699 for GMWb069012; EF533700 for GMWb080D08; and EF533698 for GMWb042124. LysM protein sequences from species spanning all kingdoms were extracted from Pfam and searched for LysM motifs at an E-value cutoff of 0.1.

Sequence alignments were performed using ClustalX 1.83 (Thompson et al., 1997) with PHYLIP output format and edited in Jalview (Clamp et al., 2004). The average identities across the alignments for LysMe (type X), LysMn (type XI), and LYPb (type VII) were calculated based on the exported annotations in Jalview. An HMM profile calculated using hmmer (Eddy, 1998) for each alignment was used to realign (hmmalign) sequences at matching states (-m) to identify and remove indel regions.

Parsimony trees were generated using the program protpars of PHYLIP (Felsenstein, 2000), with maximum-likelihood branch lengths calculated using TREE-PUZZLE (Schmidt et al., 2002). Distance trees were calculated using the program Protdist and Fitch of the PHYLIP package. Maximum-likelihood trees were calculated using the program proml of the PHYLIP package. Bootstrap values were calculated using the program seqboot of the PHYLIP package. Trees were viewed and rooted using A Tree Viewer (Zmasek and Eddy, 2001). For calculation of nucleotide substitution rates, codon-aligned nucleic acid sequences were created using CodonAlign 2.0. All insertions and deletions were removed except that a gap of more than 30 nucleotides was preferably retained to demonstrate the lack of the p loop and the activation loop in the kinase domains of LjNFR5 orthologs (Limpens et al., 2003; Madsen et al., 2003; Arrighi et al., 2006). Nucleotide substitution levels were calculated using the program codeml of the PAML package (Yang, 1997) with a user-defined parsimony tree.

To build microsynteny maps, genomic sequences surrounding each LYK gene, about 0.5 to 0.9 Mb in length, were extracted from the above databases and from soybean BAC sequences, which are about 100 to 170 kb in length. The genomic sequences were annotated using dicot species model and Arabidopsis matrix of FGENESH for the five dicot plants and monocot species model and rice matrix for rice. The annotated protein sequences were compiled together into a peptide sequence database. Repetitive sequences were excluded from the databases. BLASTp was used to compare proteins against the database with an E-value cutoff of 1e-20 and a percent identity cutoff of 35% between species and 40% within same species and legumes. BLASTp results were then filtered once to remove retroelements. The microsynteny maps were finally drawn in Adobe Illustrator 10.0.

Example 2 Induction of Gene Expression in Arabidopsis Treated with Chitin

A total of five LysM receptor-like kinase genes were identified in Arabidopsis from the studies described in Example 1. The Genbank numbers of these five genes are AtLYK1 (GenBank accession # At3g21630), AtLYK2 (GenBank accession # At3g01840), AtLYK3 (GenBank accession # At1g51940), AtLYK4 (GenBank accession # At2g23770), AtLYK5 (GenBank accession # At2g33580), and, which are designated as SEQ ID. Nos. 3-7, respectively. A DNA microarray experiment was performed by treating Arabidopsis plants with chitin. Leaves were treated by spraying with chitin (100 μM)+0.2% Tween-20. The Affymetrix 24K Arabidopsis genome chip was utilized according to the manufacture's instructions for this test. The data obtained showed that transcription of 3 of the 5 Arabidopsis LysM RLK genes, At2g33580 (13-fold), At3g21630 (2-fold) and At2g23770 (2-fold), was significantly increased by treating the plants with chitin. The data implicate these genes in plant chitin response.

Example 3 LysM RLK Mutants in Arabidopsis

To test whether non-leguminous LysM RLKs may be involved in the perception of chitooligosaccharides and the subsequent induction of downstream genes that have been implicated in fungal defense, T-DNA insertion mutants were obtained for all five LysM RLK genes (i.e., At1g51940, At2g23770, At2g33580, At3g01840, and At3g21630) in Arabidopsis. The gene At3g21630 (SEQ ID. No. 3) is also termed AtLYK1 or AtLysM RLK1. Homozygous mutants were then treated with a purified chitooligosaccharide (chitooctaose) and the expression levels of known CRGs, such as MPK3 (At3g45640, SEQ ID. No. 8), WRKY22 (At4g01250, SEQ ID. No. 9), WRKY29 (At4g23550, SEQ ID. No. 10), WRKY33 (At2g38470, SEQ ID. No. 11), and WRKY53 (At4g23810, SEQ ID. No. 12), were measured.

More particularly, Arabidopsis seedlings were grown hydroponically as described by Ramonell et al., 2005. Fourteen-day old seedlings were treated with chitooctaose (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo., USA) at a concentration of 1 μM or with distilled water (as a control) for 30 minutes. To test flagellin-responsive genes, 14-day old seedlings were also treated with the flagellinderived flg22 peptide (dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO) at a final concentration of 10 μM or with an equivalent amount of DMSO (as a control) for 30 minutes. To test other defense pathways, Arabidopsis seedlings were also treated for 24 hours with 5 mM SA, 100 μM MeJA, and 0.5 mM ACC (all obtained from Sigma, St. Louis, Mo., USA) and dissolved in 0.1% ethanol. The control plants were similarly treated with an equivalent amount of ethanol. After treatment, the seedlings were collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen for RNA isolation.

Total RNA was isolated using the Trizol Reagent according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.). The isolated RNA was further purified using Qiagen RNeasy Mini Columns according to the manufacturer's instruction (Qiagen, Valencia, Calif., USA) and treated with Turbo™ DNase (Ambion, Austin, Tex., USA). For semi-quantitative RT-PCR or quantitative 17 PCR, cDNA was synthesized using M-MLV reverse transcriptase according to the manufacturer's instructions (Promega, Madison, Wis., USA).

Semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The gene-specific primer pairs (forward and reverse) for detecting the following selected chitooligosaccharide-responsive genes (CRGs) are: For MPK3 (At3g45640): (SEQ ID No. 13) 5′-CTCACGGAGGACAGTTCATAAG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 14) 5′-GAGATCAGATTCTGTCGGTGTG-3′ For WRKY22 (At4g01250): (SEQ ID No. 15) 5′-GTAAGCTCATCAGCTACTACCAC-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 16) 5′-ACCGCTAGATGATCCTCAACAG-3′ for WRKY29 (At4g23550): (SEQ ID No. 17) 5′-ATGGACGAAGGAGACCTAGAAG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 18) 5′-CCGCTTGGTGCGTACTCGTTTC-3′ For WRKY33 (At2g3 8470): (SEQ ID No. 19) 5′-CTCCGACCACAACTACAACTAC-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 20) 5′-GGCTCTCTCACTGTCTTGCTTC-3′ For WRKY53 (At4g23810): (SEQ ID No. 21) 5′-CCTACGAGAGATCTCTTCTTCTG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 22) 5′-AGATCGGAGAACTCTCCACGTG-3′

As an internal control, the following forward and reverse primers of actin-2 (At3 g18780) were included in the same PCR reaction with each primer pair of the above genes: (SEQ ID No. 23) 5′-GACTAAGAGAGAAAGTAAGAGATAATCCAG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 24) 5′-CAGCCTTTGATTTCAATTTGCATGTAAGAG-3′.

PCR reactions were conducted using Taq polymerase (Promega, Madison, Wis., USA) under the following conditions: 94° C., 3 minutes; 94° C., 30 seconds; 55° C., 30 seconds; 72° C., 1.5 minutes; 25 cycles; 72° C., 3 minutes. The corresponding CRG genes in Lotus japonicus were identified by blasting the cDNA sequences of the above Arabidopsis CRGs (and also actin-2) against the TIGR Lotus japonicus Gene Index. The closest hits were chosen and arbitrarily named after their Arabidopsis counterparts with the prefix Lj (standing for Lotus japonicus). The following primer pairs were designed to detect these genes: For LjMPK3 (TC8079): (SEQ ID No. 25) 5′-CACCCTTGCGTAGAGAGTTTACTGATGTC-3′, and (SEQ ID No. 26) 5′-GTTGACGAGGATATTGAGGAAGTTGTCTG-3′; For LjWRKY22 (AV423663): (SEQ ID No. 27) 5′-TCACCTTGCTGGTTCTGGTTCTGGTTCTG-3′, and (SEQ ID No. 28) 5′-TCTGATAGGGGTGCAACCCCATCTTCTTC-3′; For LjWRKY33 (TC14849): (SEQ ID No. 29) 5′-AGTTGTGGTTCAGACCACCAGTGACATTG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 30) 5′-ACCCCATTGAGTTTCCAAACCCTGATGAG-3′; For LjWRKY53 (TC9074): (SEQ ID No. 31) 5′-CCCATCAAAAGAACCAACCACAACAAGAG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 32) 5′-ATCCGCACGCACTTGAACCATGTATTGTG-3′; For LjActin-2 (TC14247): (SEQ ID No. 33) 5′-AAGGTTCGTAAACGATGGCTGATGCTGAG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 34) 5′-ACCTTGATCTTCATGCTGCTAGGAGCAAG-3′.

LjActin-2 was used as an internal control.

Quantitative PCR. To quantify gene expression using quantitative PCR, the forward and reverse primers of each gene were as follows: For PR-1 (At2g14610, SEQ ID. No. 35): (SEQ ID No. 36) 5′-AACACGTGCAATGGAGTTTGTGGTCACT-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 37) 5′-ACCATTGTTACACCTCACTTTGGCACAT-3′; For PDF1.2 (At5g44420, SEQ ID. No. 38): (SEQ ID No. 39) 5′-AGTGCATTAACCTTGAAGGAGCCAAACAT-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 40) 5′-AACAGATACACTTGTGTGCTGGGAAGACA-3′; For MPK3 (At3g45640): (SEQ ID No. 41) 5′-TGGCCATTGATCTTGTTGACAGAATGTTGA-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 42) 5′-TCGTGCAATTTAGCAAGGTACTGGTGATT-3′; for WRKY53 (At4g23810): (SEQ ID No. 43) 5′-TTTAGGCGCCAAATTCCCAAGGAGTTATT-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 44) 5′-TCTGGACTTGTTTCGTTGCCCAACAGTTT-3′; For actin-2 (At3g18780): (SEQ ID No. 45) 5′-GGTATTCTTACCTTGAAGTATCCTATTG-3′ and (SEQ ID No. 46) 5′-CTCATTGTAGAAAGTGTGATGCCAGATC-3′.

Actin-2 was used as an internal control to normalize gene expression across different samples. The reactions were conducted on a 7500 Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., USA) using the SYBR® Green Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., USA) with the following PCR conditions: 95° C., 10 minutes; 95° C., 15 seconds; 60° C., 1 minute; 40 cycles; followed by the dissociation curve analysis to verify single amplicon. The fold change in the target gene, normalized to actin-2 and relative to the gene expression in the control sample, was calculated as described in Ramonell et al., 2002.

The AtLysM RLK1 insertion mutant (096F09) used in the current work was generated in the context of the GABI-Kat program and provided by Bernd Weisshaar (MPI for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany). See Shibuya et al., 2001. The homozygous plants were identified by genotyping using the following gene-specific primers: (SEQ ID No. 47) 5′-AGAATATATCCACGAGCACACGGTTCCAG-3′(forward), and (SEQ ID No. 48) 5′-GACGAAAAGAGAGTGGATAAAGCAACCAC-3′(reverse)

together with the T-DNA left border primer: (SEQ ID No. 49) 5′-CCCATTTGGACGTGAATGTAGACAC-3′.

These two primers were also used to detect the expression of the AtLysM RLK1 gene via RT-PCR. The other primers used to detect the transcript 5′ of the insertion site were as follows: (SEQ ID No. 50) 5′-ATGAAGCTAAAGATTTCTCTAATCGCTC-3′, and (SEQ ID No. 51) 5′-GAAATGCACCATTTGGATCTCTTCCAG-3′

The mutants of the other 4 Arabidopsis LysM RLK genes were obtained from the SALK Institute and Syngenta Incorporation through the Arabidopsis Basic Research Center (ABRC) or from the Martienssen lab at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

One insertion mutant designated as L3 with an insertion in gene At1g51940 exhibited an interesting phenotype. This mutant showed enhanced expression of some defense-related genes, such as PR-2 and PR-1, as shown in FIG. 3. The PR-2 gene (AT3G57260, SEQ ID. No. 52) encodes a β-1,3-glucanase, which is an enzyme that degrades the fungal cell wall component glucan to inhibit fungal infection. PR-1 (SEQ ID. No. 35) has also been shown to be involved in plant defense against pathogens, especially bacterial pathogens. This enhanced expression of defense genes suggests that the mutant may be resistant to fungal pathogens. The test of this mutant with a fungal pathogen called Botrytis cinerea demonstrated that the mutant is resistant to this fungal pathogen, as shown in FIG. 4A. B. cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus, and dead plants were assessed as those having no remaining green, only yellowish leaves. The L3 mutant demonstrated increased resistance relative to the wild-type plant.

In addition, the L3 mutant showed decreased susceptibility to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae strain DC3000, as shown in FIG. 4B. The enhanced resistance is likely due to the knockout of the specific LysM receptor kinase gene. Analysis of expression of the At1g51940 gene in the L3 mutant failed to detect the mRNA. Therefore, the lack of At1g51940 gene expression correlates with elevated PR1 expression and enhanced disease resistance. This suggests that At1g51940 may act normally to repress the disease resistance response according to a model pathway of the involvement of the LYSM RK in plant defense, as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, it is possible to make plants more resistant to fungal pathogens by either knocking out or knocking down the expression of this gene. Furthermore, dominant negative forms of this protein may also be made and employed to modulate plant fungal resistance.

Another insertion mutant, corresponding to At3g21630, or AtLYK1 (designated hereafter as AtLysM RLK1), almost completely blocked the induction of all the selected CRGs (FIG. 6A), suggesting a critical role of AtLysM RLK1 in the perception of chitooligosaccharides. Both the mutant (Mu) and wildtype (WT) plants were treated with purified chitooctaose or water (as a control) for 30 minutes and gene expression of the selected CRGs was detected using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Actin-2 was used as an internal control. The amplification of both actin-2 and a CRG was conducted in the same tube.

The AtLysM RLK1 gene (SEQ ID. No. 3) is 2988 nucleotides (nts) long, with 11 introns (FIG. 6B) and a coding sequence of 1854 nts. Square boxes represent exons. Solid lines between them are introns. The start codon (ATG) and stop codon (TAG) are included in the first and last exon, respectively. The two T-DNA insertions (T-DNA1 and 2) inserted in the 10th intron in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant are indicated above the gene. LB: left border; RB: right border. The AtLysM RLK1 gene encodes a LysM RLK of 617 amino acids (SEQ ID No. 53), with an extracellular domain (containing 3 predicted LysM motifs), a transmembrane domain (TM), and an intracellular serine/threonine kinase domain. FIG. 6C illustrates the predicted domain structure of AtLysM RLK1. S: signal peptide; LysM: LysM domain; TM: transmembrane domain; Ser/Thr Kinase: Serine/Threonine kinase domain. AtLysM RLK1 has been shown to be phylogenetically related to the Nod signal receptor NFR1. Zhang et al., 2007.

Two T-DNA insertions were identified in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant, separated by 4 nts, in the 10th intron (FIG. 6B). RT-PCR analysis using primers corresponding to the exon regions on the side of the 10th intron failed to detect mRNA expression in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant; however, a truncated transcript derived from the gene sequence before the intron was detected by RT-PCR (FIGS. 7A and 7B), suggesting the T-DNA insertions in the intron blocked full-length transcription of the gene.

To confirm that the observed changes in CRGs expression were caused by the mutation in the AtLysM RLK1 gene, the mutant was complemented with the full-length AtLysM RLK1 cDNA driven by the constitutive Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CMV) 35S promoter. More specifically, the full-length CDS (1854 nucleotides long) was obtained by RT-PCR and cloned in the Eco RV site of the pBluescript vector. The confirmed sequence was further cloned into the modified binary 16 vector pCAMBIA1200 that contains a 35S promoter-Multiple Cloning Sites (MCS)-poly A signal, downstream of the 35S promoter. The final construct was electroporated into Agrobacterium tumafaciens EHA105 according to the procedures described by Stacey and Shibuya, 1997. The resultant A. tumafaciens was then used to transform the homozygous AtLysM RLK1 mutant via floral dipping as described by Passarinho et al., 2002.

Multiple transgenic lines were obtained. The complemented plants were treated with chitooctaose or water (as a control) at a final concentration of 1 μM for 30 minutes. RT-PCR data show that the selected CRGs were induced to a level in the selected complemented plants (Com-1 and Com-2) similar to the level in the wild type (WT) plants (FIG. 8). Com-1 and Com-2 are two independent complemented lines and WT is wild-type Col-0 plants.

Thus, the complemented plants showed restored induction of those selected CRGs, confirming that it was the insertions in the AtLysM RLK1 gene that caused the observed change in gene expression. The complementation data also ruled out the possibility that a truncated protein translated from the observed truncated transcript may have affected the expression of the selected CRGs.

The expression pattern of the AtLysM RLK1 gene was also studied. RT-PCR data show that AtLysM RLK1 is expressed ubiquitously in the whole plant, in tissues such as root, rosette leaf, cauline leaf, stem, inflorescence, silique, flower bud, open flower, and pollen, with the lowest expression levels in pollen (FIG. 9). Interestingly, this gene was induced by chitooligosaccharides, but not by the flg22 peptide derived from flagellin, a PAMP (pathogen-associated molecular pattern) produced by pathogenic bacteria (FIG. 10) (Gomez-Gomez et al., 2000), suggesting a specific role of this gene in chitooligosaccharide signaling. More specifically, for experiment (A), fourteen-day-old, hydroponically grown seedlings were treated for 30 minutes with chitooctaose at a final concentration of 1 μM or with distilled water (as a control); for experiment (B), the seedlings were treated with flg22 (dissolved in DMSO) at a final concentration of 10 μM or with an equivalent amount of DMSO (as a control).

Gene expression profiles in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant in response to chitooctaose were studied using the Affymetrix Arabidopsis Whole Genome Array ATH1 (with ˜22000 genes), with wild-type plants as a control. Data analysis showed that a total of 909 genes responded more than 1.5 fold (P<0.05) to chitooctaose elicitation in both the wild-type and mutant plants 30 minutes after the treatment (FIG. 11A). A row represents a gene and each column represents a sample. WT-8mer=wild-type Col-0 treated with chitooctaose; WT-water=wild-type Col-0 treated with distilled water; Mu-water=the AtLysM RLK1 mutant treated with distilled water; Mu-8mer=the AtLysM RLK1 mutant treated with chitooctaose. The color bar below the cluster picture: the red color indicates the expression level of a gene is above the mean expression of the gene across all samples; the green color indicates expression lower than the mean. These genes can be separated into two groups: up- and down-regulated by chitooctaose, as represented by the two large clusters in FIG. 11A.

Out of the 909 genes tested, 890 showed a change in transcript levels in the wild-type plants in response to chitooctaose, with 663 up-regulated and 227 down-regulated (FIG. 11B, 11C and Table 3). Up-regulated genes: 1.5 fold, P<0.05. Down-regulated genes: 1.5 fold, P<0.05. By contrast, only 33 genes out of 909 were responsive in the mutant, with 16 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated (FIGS. 11B and 11C; Table 4). Among the 33 genes, 14 genes (3 up- and 11 down-regulated) were also similarly regulated in the wild-type plants (rows 1 to 15 in Table 4), leaving only 19 genes that appeared to be differentially regulated by chitooctaose in the mutant (rows 16-34 in Table 4). However, 13 of these genes showed a similar regulation trend (up- or down-regulation) in the wild-type plants to that in the mutant, although such a trend was not considered significant in the wild-type plants (rows 16 to 28 in Table 4). TABLE 3 Genes that are Responsive to chitooctaose in Wild-type WT Mu Probe set Annotation Accession FC FC WT P Mu P 245613_at hypothetical protein At4g14450 72.79 −1.8 0.019018 0.836714 249197_at putative protein contains similarity to At5g42380 51.63 1.06 0.019359 0.866994 calmodulin; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 99348. 258947_at hypothetical protein similar to calmodulin-like At3g01830 43.33 1.58 0.012148 0.103554 protein GB: CAB42906 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; Pfam HMM hit: EF hand; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 7252. 260399_at putative lipoxygenase similar to lipoxygenase At1g72520 41.48 −1.11 0.009183 0.804844 GB: CAB56692 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15810254_gb_AY056166.1_(—) 257540_at hypothetical protein At3g21520 34.95 1.08 0.001687 0.921695 256526_at disease resistance protein, putative similar to disease At1g66090 33.68 −1.13 0.01628 0.597847 resistance protein RPP1-WsA [Arabidopsis thaliana] GI: 3860163; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 93530. 250796_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g05300 31.56 1.1 0.004167 0.773037 (gb|AAF01528.1) 261474_at anionic peroxidase, putative similar to anionic At1g14540 30.96 −1.02 0.001414 0.955549 peroxidase GI: 170202 from [Nicotiana sylvestris] 245755_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g35210 30.5 −1.11 0.01789 0.881393 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 42217. 254231_at putative protein AR411-Arabidopsis thaliana (thale At4g23810 28.21 −1.25 0.018401 0.425568 cress), PID: g1669603; supported by cDNA: gi_13507100_gb_AF272748.1_AF272748 248322_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g52760 26.14 1.31 0.004693 0.152597 (emb|CAA71173.1) 249770_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g24110 25.43 −1.06 0.035483 0.869658 Ceres: 6469. 247215_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g64905 24.84 1.24 0.04883 0.449026 Ceres: 3657. 265725_at putative alanine acetyl transferase At2g32030 23.73 1.08 0.027584 0.473742 266821_at putative ethylene response element binding protein At2g44840 23.69 −1.22 0.019899 0.271281 (EREBP); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6397. 248904_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g46295 23.69 −1.49 0.007953 0.428724 Ceres: 18973. 261648_at salt-tolerance zinc finger protein identical to salt- At1g27730 22.71 −1.09 0.016239 0.33423 tolerance zinc finger protein GB: CAA64820 GI: 1565227 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_14334649_gb_AY034998.1_(—) 262085_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g56060 22.37 1.36 0.001015 0.285112 261021_at hypothetical protein similar to reticuline oxidase-like At1g26380 22.2 2.37 0.004697 0.108353 protein GB: CAB45850 GI: 5262224 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_13430839_gb_AF360332.1_AF360332 263182_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g05575 19.34 −1.02 0.005652 0.804382 Ceres: 27081. 249417_at calcium-binding protein-like cbp1 calcium-binding At5g39670 18.84 −1.03 0.012777 0.874622 protein, Lotus japonicus, EMBL: LJA251808; supported by cDNA: gi_16648829_gb_AY058192.1_(—) 254120_at putative mitochondrial uncoupling protein At4g24570 18.47 −1.26 0.006894 0.121685 mitochondrial uncoupling protein, Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress), PATX: E1316826; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 119476. 264153_at disease resistance protein RPS4, putative similar to At1g65390 17.77 −1.01 0.006757 0.837017 disease resistance protein RPS4 GI: 5459305 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 249264_s_at disease resistance protein-like At5g41740 17.16 1.01 0.016032 0.965149 246821_at calmodulin-binding-like protein calmodulin- At5g26920 16.58 −1.22 0.002033 0.305516 binding protein TCB60, Nicotiana tabacum, EMBL: U58971 265327_at unknown protein At2g18210 16.02 −1.08 0.007312 0.847704 252131_at BCS1 protein-like protein Homo sapiens h-bcs1 At3g50930 15.81 1.28 0.020727 0.19657 (BCS1) mRNA, nuclear gene encoding mitochondrial protein which is involved in the expression of functional mitochondrial ubiquinol- cytochrome c reductase complex probably via the control of expression of Riesk 245840_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g58420 15.76 −1.16 0.001929 0.649675 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 124269. 245041_at AR781, similar to yeast pheromone receptor At2g26530 15.71 −1.4 0.011514 0.105739 identical to GB: D88743, corrected a frameshift found in the original record (at 69530 bp), sequence submitted has been verified from 10 sequence electropherograms. The translation now starts from an upstream ATG. 248799_at ethylene responsive element binding factor 5 At5g47230 15.6 −1.36 0.005208 0.117072 (ATERF5) (sp|O80341); supported by cDNA: gi_14326511_gb_AF385709.1_AF385709 250149_at cinnamoyl CoA reductase-like protein cinnamoyl At5g14700 15.46 −1.13 0.022877 0.554222 CoA reductase, Populus tremuloides, EMBL: AF217958; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 17229. 256306_at lipase, putative contains Pfam profile: PF01764: At1g30370 15.3 1.11 0.00866 0.751633 Lipase 246777_at RING-H2 zinc finger protein-like RING-H2 zinc At5g27420 14.67 −1.44 0.011803 0.037951 finger protein ATL6-Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF132016; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 106078. 263783_at putative WRKY-type DNA binding protein; At2g46400 14.41 1.26 0.005589 0.126494 supported by cDNA: gi_15430276_gb_AY046275.1_(—) 245369_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g15975 14.34 1.03 0.00366 0.920236 Ceres: 124835. 251336_at putative protein hypothetical protein F4I18.26- At3g61190 14.31 1.07 0.007665 0.724447 Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: T02471; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 30454. 260046_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At1g73800 13.55 1 0.010217 0.9771 gi_16648699_gb_AY058126.1_(—) 260068_at putative calmodulin-binding protein similar to At1g73805 13.35 1.16 0.007383 0.51944 calmodulin-binding protein GB: AAB37246 [Nicotiana tabacum] 266071_at unknown protein At2g18680 13.32 1.11 0.004216 0.713949 253643_at hypothetical protein; supported by full-length At4g29780 13.05 −1.11 0.002383 0.344174 cDNA: Ceres: 249769. 264213_at hypothetical protein contains similarity to lectin At1g65400 12.76 −1.17 0.021498 0.255697 polypeptide GI: 410436 from [Cucurbita maxima] 262382_at virus resistance protein, putative similar to virus At1g72920 12.68 −1.4 0.003189 0.073493 resistance protein GI: 558886 from [Nicotiana glutinosa] 247543_at DNA binding protein-like DNA binding protein At5g61600 12.31 −1.31 0.014862 0.112814 EREBP-4, Nicotiana tabacum, PIR: T02434; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 92102. 256442_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g10930 11.62 −1.07 0.025288 0.782271 genefinder; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 12509. 253060_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At4g37710 11.56 1.34 0.005721 0.412461 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 207350. 253915_at putative protein centrin, Marsilea vestita; supported At4g27280 11.5 −1.07 0.01185 0.333253 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 13072. 249928_at CCR4-associated factor-like protein At5g22250 11.41 −1.17 0.009043 0.204172 245711_at putative c2h2 zinc finger transcription factor At5g04340 11.35 −1.11 0.016673 0.392119 261892_at transcription factor, putative similar to WRKY At1g80840 11.27 1.09 0.006954 0.498704 transcription factor GB: BAA87058 GI: 6472585 from [Nicotiana tabacum]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6437. 261394_at wall-associated kinase 2, putative similar to wall- At1g79680 11.05 1.08 0.003074 0.819188 associated kinase 2 GI: 4826399 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 251774_at nematode resistance protein-like protein Hs1pro-1 At3g55840 11.02 −1.37 0.007795 0.481526 nematode resistance gene, Beta procumbens, EMBL: BPU79733; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 149697. 265723_at putative disease resistance protein At2g32140 10.99 1.18 0.016981 0.537825 255339_at hypothetical protein similar to A. thaliana At4g04480 10.83 1.32 0.012367 0.514455 hypothetical protein F1N20.130, GenBank accession number AL022140 251054_at receptor like protein kinase receptor like protein At5g01540 10.66 −1.01 0.003949 0.917593 kinase-Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: ATLECGENE; supported by cDNA: gi_13605542_gb_AF361597.1_AF361597 253827_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At4g28085 10.37 −1.09 0.010797 0.530514 gi_15028040_gb_AY045877.1_(—) 255945_at putative protein At5g28610 10.06 1.21 0.010366 0.464865 249618_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At5g37490 9.99 −1.09 0.004719 0.814525 thalina 248934_at serine/threonine protein kinase-like protein At5g46080 9.94 −1.17 0.007605 0.645509 261037_at lipoxygenase identical to GB: CAB56692 from At1g17420 9.88 −1.1 0.002351 0.775492 (Arabidopsis thaliana) 267623_at unknown protein At2g39650 9.87 −1.12 0.006744 0.439834 259428_at MAP kinase, putative similar to MAP kinase 5 At1g01560 9.84 1.54 0.002458 0.135149 GI: 4239889 from [Zea mays] 246927_s_at nodulin-like protein nodulin, Glycine max, At5g25260 9.74 1.6 0.004623 0.163075 EMBL: AF065435 264758_at late embryogenesis abundant protein, putative At1g61340 9.73 1.17 0.016626 0.389155 similar to late embryogenesis abundant protein GI: 1350540 from [Picea glauca] 245329_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g14365 9.7 1.42 0.002486 0.029582 Ceres: 37809. 262072_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g59590 9.54 −1.12 0.009452 0.599212 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 99553. 255844_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g33580 9.42 1.11 0.006611 0.553845 domain profile (PDOC00100) 253632_at senescence-associated protein homolog senescence- At4g30430 9.29 1.22 0.004184 0.351697 associated protein 5-Hemerocallis hybrid cultivar, PID: g3551954; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 122632. 257511_at hypothetical protein At1g43000 9.29 −1.13 0.020984 0.846669 253999_at 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase-like At4g26200 9.24 −1.56 0.004129 0.115048 protein ACC synthase, Malus domestica, U73816 265920_s_at unknown protein At2g15120 9.13 1.33 0.001682 0.33404 263800_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan; supported At2g24600 8.97 1.02 0.014457 0.769925 by cDNA: gi_15810330_gb_AY056204.1_(—) 248164_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g54490 8.97 −1.17 0.008767 0.190232 (pir||T05752); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 109272. 265597_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At2g20145 8.96 −1 0.023429 0.965819 gi_13605516_gb_AF361584.1_AF361584 248327_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g52750 8.93 −1.04 0.017097 0.808905 (emb|CAA71173.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19542. 252908_at putative protein At4g39670 8.56 1.17 0.012661 0.466742 251400_at putative protein prib5, Ribes nigrum, At3g60420 8.53 1.64 0.029245 0.023237 EMBL: RNI7578; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 31361. 261475_at anionic peroxidase, putative similar to anionic At1g14550 8.51 1.41 0.01103 0.395333 peroxidase GI: 170202 from [Nicotiana sylvestris] 256185_at dof zinc finger protein identical to dof zinc finger At1g51700 8.47 −1.09 0.001565 0.51485 protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] GI: 3608261; supported by cDNA: gi_3608260_dbj_AB017564.1_AB017564 250493_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At5g09800 8.28 −1.06 0.010787 0.857557 Arabidopsis thaliana 252679_at CCR4-associated factor 1-like protein At3g44260 8.27 −1.27 0.000484 0.065446 CAF1_MOUSE CCR4-ASSOCIATED FACTOR 1- Mus musculus, SWISSPROT: CAF1_MOUSE; supported by cDNA: gi_15292828_gb_AY050848.1_(—) 265797_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g35715 8.26 −1.27 0.005817 0.60028 Ceres: 9996. 248448_at putative protein contains similarity to ethylene At5g51190 8.25 −1.1 0.009635 0.575899 responsive element binding factor; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 2347. 255884_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g20310 8.15 −1.19 0.022852 0.204061 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 8562. 261449_at putative ATPase similar to GB: AAF28353 from At1g21120 7.97 1.46 0.004955 0.182958 [Fragaria x ananassa] 265841_at putative glycogenin At2g35710 7.96 −1.27 0.011587 0.280483 251895_at class IV chitinase (CHIV) At3g54420 7.95 −1.09 0.003142 0.722712 263935_at unknown protein At2g35930 7.89 −1.06 0.006185 0.342267 255502_at contains similarity to a protein kinase domain (Pfam: At4g02410 7.89 −1.07 0.003365 0.691648 pkinase.hmm, score: 166.20) and to legume lectins beta domain (Pfam: lectin_legB.hmm, score: 139.32) 258787_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan; supported At3g11840 7.84 −1.13 0.036463 0.37994 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 100676. 266658_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g25735 7.71 −1.47 0.003942 0.026409 Ceres: 7152. 245250_at ethylene responsive element binding factor-like At4g17490 7.54 1.06 0.008242 0.704323 protein (AtERF6); supported by cDNA: gi_3298497_dbj_AB013301.1_AB013301 247487_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At5g62150 7.39 1.01 0.005388 0.945249 thaliana 261470_at ethylene-responsive element binding factor, putative At1g28370 7.33 −1.17 0.005528 0.478834 similar to ethylene-responsive element binding factor GI: 8809573 from [Nicotiana sylvestris]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 27635. 262381_at virus resistance protein, putative similar to virus At1g72900 7.27 −1.19 0.006528 0.311035 resistance protein GI: 558886 from [Nicotiana glutinosa] 248123_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g54720 7.23 1.29 0.006214 0.245803 (gb|AAD32884.1) 263379_at putative CCCH-type zinc finger protein also an At2g40140 7.21 1.01 0.004911 0.848966 ankyrin-repeat protein 263584_at NAM (no apical meristem)-like protein similar to At2g17040 7.13 −1.29 0.006099 0.12014 petunia NAM (X92205) and A. thaliana sequences ATAF1 (X74755) and ATAF2 (X74756); probable DNA-binding protein; supported by cDNA: gi_13605646_gb_AF361804.1_AF361804 259566_at hypothetical protein At1g20520 7.04 −1.14 0.024145 0.734624 267028_at putative WRKY-type DNA binding protein At2g38470 7.02 −1.19 0.009642 0.27064 265008_at Mlo protein, putative similar to Mlo protein At1g61560 6.99 1.2 0.00298 0.470024 GI: 1877220 from [Hordeum vulgare]; supported by cDNA: gi_14091581_gb_AF369567.1_AF369567 247693_at putative protein leucine zipper-containing protein, At5g59730 6.97 1.01 0.004438 0.963142 Lycopersicon esculentum, PIR: S21495; supported by cDNA: gi_14334437_gb_AY034910.1_(—) 257748_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At3g18710 6.82 −1.16 0.009082 0.446456 258351_at hypothetical protein contains similarity to ion At3g17700 6.78 −1.02 0.004386 0.920019 channel protein from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_8131897_gb_AF148541.1_AF148541 251745_at putative protein zinc finger transcription factor At3g55980 6.71 −1.36 0.001393 0.169064 (PEI1), Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF050463; supported by cDNA: gi_15810486_gb_AY056282.1_(—) 257536_at unknown protein At3g02800 6.46 1.24 0.011172 0.244827 246108_at putative protein retinal glutamic acid-rich protein, At5g28630 6.43 −1.14 0.017801 0.374617 bovine, PIR: A40437; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 24151. 256046_at unknown protein At1g07135 6.42 −1.28 0.005287 0.339032 258436_at putative RING zinc finger protein similar to RING- At3g16720 6.39 −1.2 0.002525 0.290143 H2 zinc finger protein ATL6 GB: AAD33584 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 4581. 254255_at serine/threonine kinase-like protein At4g23220 6.39 1.58 0.01157 0.225448 serine/threonine kinase, Brassica oleracea; supported by cDNA: gi_14423417_gb_AF386946.1_AF386946 248686_at 33 kDa secretory protein-like; supported by cDNA: At5g48540 6.37 1.07 0.007302 0.530534 gi_15292980_gb_AY050924.1_(—) 248726_at RAS superfamily GTP-binding protein-like; At5g47960 6.34 −1 0.011505 0.996984 supported by cDNA: gi_12004622_gb_AF218121.1_AF218121 256633_at unknown protein At3g28340 6.32 −1.23 0.013314 0.277616 256183_at MAP kinase kinase 4 (ATMKK4) identical to MAP At1g51660 6.32 1.03 0.001255 0.842274 kinase kinase 4 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_13265419_gb_AF324667.2_AF324667 247949_at cytochrome P450 At5g57220 6.31 −1.03 0.00798 0.740555 250098_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g17350 6.21 −1.09 0.005623 0.628534 Ceres: 1198. 255504_at drought-induced-19-like 1 similar to drought- At4g02200 6.14 1.1 0.002902 0.428306 induced-19, GenBank accession number X78584 similar to F2P16.10, GenBank accession number 2191179 identical to T10M13.20 253414_at putative protein At4g33050 6.08 −1.1 0.002073 0.284317 262731_at hypothetical protein similar to gb|AF098458 latex- At1g16420 6.07 1.18 0.016528 0.727417 abundant protein (LAR) from Hevea brasiliensis 247848_at resistance protein-like disease resistance protein At5g58120 6.07 −1.04 0.01295 0.876046 RPP1-WsA, Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF098962 254926_at ACC synthase (AtACS-6); supported by cDNA: At4g11280 6.04 −1.17 0.005123 0.161176 gi_16226285_gb_AF428292.1_AF428292 249719_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g35735 6.04 −1.08 0.005081 0.233393 Ceres: 32450. 247208_at nodulin-like; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g64870 6.04 1.22 0.001605 0.225756 Ceres: 142026. 257478_at hypothetical protein similar to putative At1g16130 5.96 −1.23 0.008918 0.562604 serine/threonine-specific protein kinase GI: 7270012 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 246993_at Cys2/His2-type zinc finger protein 1 At5g67450 5.95 −1.06 0.005299 0.855156 (dbj|BAA85108.1) 252060_at putative protein other hypothetical proteins in At3g52430 5.94 1.2 0.005073 0.34486 Arabidopsis thaliana; supported by cDNA: gi_6457330_gb_AF188329.1_AF188329 267381_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At2g26190 5.9 −1.09 0.006528 0.587987 gi_16930468_gb_AF419588.1_AF419588 245038_at similar to latex allergen from Hevea brasiliensis; At2g26560 5.89 −1.06 0.019374 0.83179 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 1999. 266800_at hypothetical protein predicted by genefinder At2g22880 5.86 −1.01 0.003336 0.993661 259211_at unknown protein identical to GB: AAD56318 At3g09020 5.82 1.08 0.00649 0.5476 (Arabidopsis thaliana) 253485_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g31800 5.82 −1.13 0.00494 0.428126 Ceres: 40692. 260211_at hypothetical protein similar to YGL010w-like At1g74440 5.77 1.06 0.003351 0.730279 protein GB: AAC32136 [Picea mariana] 256093_at predicted protein; supported by cDNA: At1g20823 5.74 −1.35 0.016068 0.107243 gi_15027984_gb_AY045849.1_(—) 267451_at putative AP2 domain transcription factor At2g33710 5.72 −1.17 0.015334 0.725714 260411_at hypothetical protein similar to GB: AAB61488 At1g69890 5.71 −1.29 0.011204 0.168552 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 34864. 254592_at heat shock transcription factor-like protein heat At4g18880 5.7 −1.08 0.009829 0.552909 shock transcription factor, Zea mays, PIR2: S61448 264000_at putative mitochondrial dicarboxylate carrier protein; At2g22500 5.68 −1.18 0.004964 0.182153 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 20723. 263475_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g31945 5.63 1 0.00655 0.971652 Ceres: 258917. 254408_at serine/threonine kinase-like protein serine/threonine At4g21390 5.63 1.2 0.003477 0.605633 kinase BRLK, Brassica oleracea, gb: Y12531 245209_at putative protein similarity to predicted protein, At5g12340 5.63 −1.23 0.004077 0.532051 Arabidopsis thaliana 259629_at disease resistance protein contains domains At1g56510 5.61 −1.13 0.009583 0.608416 associated with disease resistance genes in plants: TIR/NB-ARC/LRR 247655_at zinc finger protein Zat12; supported by full-length At5g59820 5.56 1.2 0.004335 0.099425 cDNA: Ceres: 40576. 266834_s_at putative protein phosphatase 2C At2g30020 5.52 −1.03 0.005778 0.730603 256181_at light repressible receptor protein kinase, putative At1g51820 5.51 −1.08 0.002365 0.605128 similar to light repressible receptor protein kinase GI: 1321686 from (Arabidopsis thaliana) 251705_at DNA-binding protein-like DNA-binding protein 4 At3g56400 5.5 −1.03 0.00667 0.83389 WRKY4-Nicotiana tabacum, EMBL: AF193771; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 34847. 251097_at receptor like protein kinase receptor like protein At5g01560 5.48 −1.09 0.00945 0.858858 kinase-Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: ATLECGENE 248392_at integral membrane protein-like At5g52050 5.45 −1.21 0.005162 0.477438 254158_at putative protein dihydrofolate reductase- At4g24380 5.44 −1.17 0.013347 0.342417 Schizosaccharomyces pombe, PID: e1320950; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 27155. 260406_at putative glutathione transferase similar to glutathione At1g69920 5.41 2.07 0.009635 0.082596 transferase GB: CAA09188 [Alopecurus myosuroides] 254241_at serine/threonine kinase-like protein serine/threonine At4g23190 5.37 1.09 0.001802 0.566443 kinase, Brassica oleracea 265674_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g32190 5.3 1.24 0.013333 0.440285 Ceres: 40344. 264757_at receptor protein kinase (IRK1), putative similar to At1g61360 5.28 −1.05 0.002166 0.73136 receptor protein kinase (IRK1) GI: 836953 from [Ipomoea trifida] 248875_at disease resistance protein-like At5g46470 5.28 −1.01 0.004999 0.943089 247708_at putative protein COP1-interacting protein CIP8, At5g59550 5.28 −1.21 0.003861 0.156044 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF162150; supported by cDNA: gi_15450686_gb_AY052711.1_(—) 260239_at putative receptor protein kinase similar to At1g74360 5.26 1.27 0.014165 0.212238 brassinosteroid insensitive 1 GB: AAC49810 (putative receptor protein kinase); contains Pfam profiles: PF00560 Leucine Rich Repeat (17 repeats), PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain; supported by cDNA: gi_158 255549_at predicted protein of unknown function At4g01950 5.23 −1.02 0.009729 0.893458 266992_at similar to Mlo proteins from H. vulgare; supported At2g39200 5.21 −1.12 0.008101 0.282992 by cDNA: gi_14091593_gb_AF369573.1_AF369573 261973_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g64610 5.19 −1.09 0.005786 0.674167 254242_at serine/threonine kinase-like protein serine/ At4g23200 5.19 1.03 0.007882 0.840853 threonine kinase, Brassica oleracea 260477_at Ser/Thr protein kinase isolog At1g11050 5.15 −1.34 0.029135 0.243484 265670_s_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g32210 5.07 1.19 0.014682 0.138268 Ceres: 31665. 265199_s_at putative glucosyl transferase At2g36770 5.07 1.33 0.003771 0.194926 247493_at copine-like protein copine I, Homo sapiens, At5g61900 5.07 1.04 0.003077 0.714944 EMBL: HSU83246; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 146738. 265737_at putative phosphatidic acid phosphatase; supported At2g01180 5.04 −1.05 0.00382 0.74519 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19163. 260243_at hypothetical protein similar to putative protein At1g63720 5.01 1.07 0.019639 0.772243 GB: CAA18164 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_13878144_gb_AF370335.1_AF370335 252045_at putative protein arm repeat containing protein ARC1- At3g52450 5.01 1.25 0.012091 0.125673 Brassica napus, PID: g2558938 250153_at putative protein TMV response-related gene product, At5g15130 5 1.05 0.011689 0.809857 Nicotiana tabacum, EMBL: AB024510 247047_at putative protein contains similarity to unknown At5g66650 4.98 −1.01 0.006647 0.888192 protein (gb AAC17084.1); supported by cDNA: gi_14596230_gb_AY042903.1_(—) 261476_at hypothetical protein contains similarity to alpha- At1g14480 4.97 1.14 0.02789 0.562278 latroinsectotoxin precursor GI: 9537 from [Latrodectus tredecimguttatus] 247205_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g64890 4.96 1.59 0.010532 0.389292 Ceres: 9242. 261450_s_at O-methyltransferase, putative similar to At1g21110 4.95 1.5 0.02203 0.137219 GB: AAF28353 from [Fragaria x ananassa] 252474_at putative protein several hypothetical proteins- At3g46620 4.94 −1.06 0.006633 0.705845 Arabidopsis thaliana 257840_at protein kinase, putative contains Pfam profile: At3g25250 4.93 1.19 0.013824 0.496857 PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 248964_at cytochrome P450 At5g45340 4.93 −1.52 0.003815 0.013613 247071_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (emb At5g66640 4.92 −1.02 0.010559 0.987089 CAB16816.1) 246270_at putative protein At4g36500 4.92 −1.2 0.002823 0.230335 261033_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g17380 4.84 −1.01 0.017643 0.96188 Ceres: 37370. 260261_at unknown protein At1g68450 4.78 −1.03 0.006946 0.882923 249485_at receptor protein kinase-like protein receptor-protein At5g39020 4.74 1.03 0.002268 0.823569 kinase-like protein, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: T45786 256487_at disease resistance gene, putative similar to downy At1g31540 4.73 1.14 0.01107 0.679977 mildew resistance protein RPP5 [Arabidopsis thaliana] GI: 6449046 249983_at putative protein S-receptor kinase PK3 precursor, At5g18470 4.69 1.03 0.006021 0.801393 maize, PIR: T02753; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 154037. 258682_at putative ribosomal-protein S6 kinase (ATPK19) At3g08720 4.68 1.12 0.009464 0.260404 identical to putative ribosomal-protein S6 kinase (ATPK19) GB: D42061 [Arabidopsis thaliana] (FEBS Lett. 358 (2), 199-204 (1995)); supported by cDNA: gi_15292784_gb_AY050826.1_(—) 254487_at calcium-binding protein-like calcium-binding At4g20780 4.63 −1.43 0.015022 0.176224 protein, Solanum tuberosum, gb: L02830 265728_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan At2g31990 4.62 −1.14 0.025876 0.616683 258792_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g04640 4.62 −1.08 0.003809 0.521094 genefinder, supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 8992. 253535_at putaive DNA-binding protein DNA-binding protein At4g31550 4.62 −1.17 0.001616 0.072643 WRKY3-Petroselinum crispum, PIR2: S72445; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 11953. 257751_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g18690 4.6 −1.01 0.006195 0.939184 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 104278. 261367_at protein kinase, putative similar to many predicted At1g53080 4.59 1.31 0.008723 0.439817 protein kinases 247240_at putative protein strong similarity to unknown protein At5g64660 4.57 −1.08 0.004191 0.392312 (emb|CAB89350.1) 261526_at protein kinase identical to protein kinase GI: 2852447 At1g14370 4.56 −1.08 0.004758 0.475696 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_2852446_dbj_D88206.1_D88206 254948_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At4g11000 4.55 1.03 0.020674 0.901116 Arabidopsis thaliana 245119_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At2g41640 4.54 −1.2 0.013528 0.323955 gi_16930450_gb_AF419579.1_AF419579 248319_at unknown protein At5g52710 4.5 −1.19 0.022646 0.498394 245765_at hypothetical protein similar to putative disease At1g33600 4.5 −1.01 0.00753 0.943437 resistance protein GB: AAC14512 GI: 2739389 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 248821_at protein serine threonine kinase-like At5g47070 4.49 1.13 0.005807 0.220356 245272_at hypothetical protein; supported by cDNA: At4g17250 4.49 −1 0.016447 0.969266 gi_16323154_gb_AY057681.1_(—) 255595_at putative chitinase similar to peanut type II chitinase, At4g01700 4.48 1.09 0.009232 0.455046 GenBank accession number X82329, E.C. 3.2.1.14 249918_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At5g19240 4.48 1.11 0.005605 0.490746 thaliana 263565_at unknown protein At2g15390 4.45 −1.28 0.011298 0.375612 261713_at protein kinase, putative identical to bHLH protein At1g32640 4.43 1.12 0.002007 0.392042 GB: CAA67885 GI: 1465368 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_14335047_gb_AY037203.1_(—) 262772_at puative calcium-transporting ATPase similar to At1g13210 4.4 −1.06 0.004192 0.641809 gb|AF038007 FIC1 gene from Homo sapiens and is a member of the PF|00122 E1-E2 ATPase family. ESTs gb|T45045 and gb|AA394473 come from this gene 258364_at unknown protein At3g14225 4.4 −1.49 0.013195 0.305266 257022_at zinc finger protein, putative similar to Cys2/His2- At3g19580 4.39 −1.04 0.01073 0.818188 type zinc finger protein 2 GB: BAA85107 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15028256_gb_AY046043.1_(—) 252053_at syntaxin-like protein synt4; supported by full-length At3g52400 4.38 1.02 0.002866 0.837782 cDNA: Ceres: 37248. 250695_at lectin-like protein kinase At5g06740 4.38 −1.34 0.030543 0.436678 246293_at SigA binding protein; supported by cDNA: At3g56710 4.38 −1.01 0.005488 0.98387 gi_14596086_gb_AY042831.1_(—) 249032_at putative protein contains similarity to disease At5g44910 4.37 1.06 0.010921 0.589391 resistance protein 265189_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g23840 4.34 1.12 0.020118 0.585186 gi_14335017_gb_AY037188.1_(—) 265668_at putative alanine acetyl transferase; supported by At2g32020 4.31 1.45 0.006627 0.053107 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 21201. 264232_at putative protein kinase Pfam HMM hit: Eukaryotic At1g67470 4.3 −1.07 0.003961 0.651045 protein kinase domain; identical to GB: AAC18787 (Arabidopsis thaliana) 263948_at similar to harpin-induced protein hin1 from tobacco; At2g35980 4.28 1.34 0.007735 0.319605 supporte by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 26418. 261748_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g76070 4.27 −1.05 0.034903 0.781675 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 39494. 252278_at NAC2-like protein NAC2-Arabidopsis thaliana, At3g49530 4.25 −1.01 0.001287 0.915747 EMBL: AF201456; supported by cDNA: gi_16604578_gb_AY059734.1_(—) 247137_at calcium-dependent protein kinase; supported by At5g66210 4.23 −1.01 0.004474 0.902625 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 18901. 255568_at putative DNA-binding protein; supported by At4g01250 4.21 −1.2 0.010495 0.218487 cDNA: gi_15028172_gb_AY045909.1_(—) 259479_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g19020 4.2 1.23 0.002707 0.175614 Ceres: 31015. 245247_at scarecrow-like 13 (SCL13); supported by cDNA: At4g17230 4.2 1.06 0.010533 0.625637 gi_16930432_gb_AF419570.1_AF419570 252470_at protein kinase 6-like protein protein kinase 6- At3g46930 4.19 1.13 0.012875 0.362838 Glycine max, PIR2: S29851 256050_at leucine zipper protein, putative similar to leucine At1g07000 4.16 1.04 0.018298 0.855313 zipper protein GI: 10177020 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 261405_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g18740 4.15 −1.11 0.00951 0.382476 Ceres: 40753. 267288_at similar to cold acclimation protein WCOR413 At2g23680 4.12 1.06 0.026303 0.758149 [Triticum aestivum] 252592_at mitogen-activated protein kinase 3; supported by At3g45640 4.12 −1.15 0.004807 0.119458 cDNA: gi_14423447_gb_AF386961.1_AF386961 247125_at putative protein contains similarity to unknown At5g66070 4.11 1 0.001239 0.979764 protein (gb|AAF18680.1) 265184_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g23710 4.09 −1.18 0.014497 0.24269 Ceres: 36437. 247773_at putative protein At5g58630 4.09 −1.08 0.006176 0.825067 263478_at putative receptor-like protein kinase; supported by At2g31880 4.08 1.14 0.00624 0.158364 cDNA: gi_16648754_gb_AY058153.1_(—) 251910_at serine/threonine-specific kinase like protein At3g53810 4.05 −1.02 0.002869 0.843094 serine/threonine-specific kinase (EC 2.7.1.—) precursor-Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: S68589 245662_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g28190 4.04 −1.23 0.0328 0.44426 259997_at unknown protein similar to N- At1g67880 4.03 1 0.005767 0.973619 acetylglucosaminyltransferase III GB: AAC53064 [Mus musculus] 252179_at putative protein UDP-glucose: (glucosyl) LPS At3g50760 4.03 −1.04 0.00304 0.802486 alpha1,3-glucosyltransferase WaaO, E. coli, EMBL: AF019746 252928_at putative protein more than 30 predicted proteins, At4g38940 4.01 1.07 0.000729 0.325455 Arabidopsis; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 40069. 251832_at putative protein tomato leucine zipper-containing At3g55150 4.01 1.41 0.010257 0.134388 protein, Lycopersicon esculentum, PIR: S21495 266396_at unknown protein At2g38790 4 1.05 0.027395 0.850892 259400_at receptor-like protein kinase, putative similar to At1g17750 3.97 −1.02 0.042252 0.932069 receptor-like protein kinase INRPK1 GI: 1684913 from [Ipomoea nil] 255654_at Similar to receptor kinase At4g00970 3.97 −1.11 0.010838 0.737951 254587_at resistance protein RPP5-like downy mildew At4g19520 3.97 −1.05 0.00768 0.89806 resistance protein RPP5, Arabidopsis thaliana, PATX: G2109275 255753_at myb factor, putative similar to myb factor At1g18570 3.95 1.03 0.004424 0.830522 GI: 1946266 from [Oryza sativa]; supported by cDNA: gi_3941465_gb_AF062887.1_AF062887 246532_at putative protein beta-glucan-elicitor receptor- At5g15870 3.94 −1.02 0.015841 0.913394 Glycine max, EMBL: D78510 246631_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g50740 3.93 1.04 0.006841 0.56351 Ceres: 34587. 252533_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At3g46110 3.9 1.02 0.017185 0.893955 thaliana 267384_at unknown protein highly similar to At2g44370 3.88 1.08 0.005016 0.736235 GP|2435515|AF024504 258650_at putative protein kinase similar to protein kinase At3g09830 3.88 1.11 0.012936 0.571912 (APK1A) GB: Q06548 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; contains Pfam profile: PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 249339_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g41100 3.88 −1.05 0.004061 0.72083 (gb|AAB80666.1) 248794_at ethylene responsive element binding factor 2 At5g47220 3.87 −1.23 0.011156 0.098663 (ATERF2) (sp|O80338); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 3012. 245457_s_at disease resistance RPP5 like protein At4g16960 3.86 1.18 0.010259 0.375561 248316_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g52670 3.84 −1.03 0.006334 0.875191 (emb|CAA71173.1) 253046_at cytochrome P450-like protein cytochrome P450, At4g37370 3.83 2.17 0.019261 0.016853 Glycyrrhiza echinata, AB001379; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 253698. 262374_s_at flax rust resistance protein, putative similar to flax At1g72930 3.81 1.03 0.004406 0.567071 rust resistance protein GI: 4588066 from [Linumusitatissimum]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 2795. 258537_at putative disease resistance protein similar to disease At3g04210 3.81 1.09 0.005941 0.472196 resistance protein RPP1-WsC GB: AAC72979 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15982829_gb_AY057522.1_(—) 252648_at disease resistance protein homolog disease At3g44630 3.81 −1.23 0.007177 0.068548 resistance protein RPP1-WsB-Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF098963 247913_at unknown protein At5g57510 3.81 1.12 0.009476 0.608703 267411_at putative disease resistance protein At2g34930 3.8 −1.06 0.015151 0.825604 265440_at pEARLI 4 protein Same as GB: L43081; supported At2g20960 3.8 −1.08 0.001968 0.382136 by cDNA: gi_871781_gb_L43081.1_ATHPEARA 245252_at ethylene responsive element binding factor 1 At4g17500 3.8 −1.47 0.008058 0.087956 (frameshift !); supported by cDNA: gi_3434966_dbj_AB008103.1_AB008103 259033_at putative pectinacetylesterase similar to At3g09410 3.79 1.64 0.003796 0.052828 pectinacetylesterase precursor GB: CAA67728 [Vigna radiata] 246233_at putative protein At4g36550 3.79 −1.43 0.028755 0.228285 255599_at cyclic nucleotide gated channel (CNGC4) like At4g01010 3.78 −1.02 0.00606 0.91649 protein Arabidopsis thaliana cyclic nucleotide gated channel (CNGC4), PID: g4378659 262901_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g59910 3.77 −1.08 0.006294 0.540378 259952_at putative disease resistance protein similar to Cf-4 At1g71400 3.74 1.08 0.001393 0.408545 GB: CAA05268 from (Lycopersicon hirsutum) 246858_at receptor-like protein kinase-like receptor-like At5g25930 3.73 1.02 0.015786 0.964753 protein kinase 5, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: S27756 250435_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At5g10380 3.72 1.22 0.007856 0.106321 Arabidopsis thaliana 261650_at envelope Ca2+-ATPase identical to envelope Ca2+- At1g27770 3.71 1.05 0.00839 0.580228 ATPase GB: AAD01212 GI: 516118 from (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by cDNA: gi_493621_dbj_D13983.1_ATHRCECAA 252906_at putative gamma-glutamyltransferase gamma- At4g39640 3.71 1.07 0.012355 0.562612 glutamyltransferase, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: S58286 251636_at calcium-dependent protein kinase calcium- At3g57530 3.71 −1.26 0.016722 0.11982 dependent protein kinase-Fragaria x ananassa, EMBL: AF035944 247426_at putative protein contains similarity to calmodulin- At5g62570 3.67 1.02 0.018802 0.878551 binding protein 266685_at hypothetical protein At2g19710 3.66 −1 0.018487 0.952139 249903_at disease resistance protein-like At5g22690 3.65 −1.04 0.010635 0.754135 247925_at TCH4 protein (gb|AAA92363.1); supported by At5g57560 3.65 −1.28 0.003003 0.132214 cDNA: gi_14194112_gb_AF367262.1_AF367262 248611_at putative protein contains similarity to WRKY-type At5g49520 3.63 −1.45 0.010966 0.13904 DNA-binding protein 265221_s_at putative glutamate decarboxylase; supported by At2g02010 3.62 −1.12 0.01727 0.698419 cDNA: gi_13605709_gb_AF361836.1_AF361836 259792_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g29690 3.62 −1.05 0.013953 0.685925 gi_15809819_gb_AY054177.1_(—) 256576_at zinc finger protein (PMZ), putative identical to At3g28210 3.62 1.34 0.019514 0.107277 putative zinc finger protein (PMZ) GB: AAD37511 GI: 5006473 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 254784_at growth factor like protein antisense basic fibroblast At4g12720 3.62 1.06 0.012904 0.638871 growth factor GFG-Rattus norvegicus, PID: g1518635; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 148575. 247177_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At5g65300 3.62 1.1 0.004863 0.387978 gi_13877834_gb_AF370180.1_AF370180 245226_at gene_id: K17E7.15˜unknown protein At3g29970 3.6 1.76 0.01017 0.066452 256756_at ATPase II, putative similar to GB: AAD34706 from At3g25610 3.59 −1.01 0.009255 0.929097 [Homo sapiens] (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 257 (2), 333-339 (1999)) 253140_at RING-H2 finger protein RHA3b; supported by full- At4g35480 3.56 −1.04 0.013391 0.651703 length cDNA: Ceres: 31493. 250289_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g13190 3.56 1.18 0.000966 0.176346 Ceres: 5392. 247811_at leucine zipper-containing protein leucine zipper- At5g58430 3.56 −1.01 0.001344 0.933016 containing protein, Lycopersicon esculentum, PIR: S21495 261899_at cinnamoyl CoA reductase, putative similar to At1g80820 3.55 −1.11 0.01598 0.720481 cinnamoyl CoA reductase GB: AAF43141 GI: 7239228 from [Populus tremuloides]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 32255. 245866_s_at unknown protein At1g57990 3.55 −1.09 0.011056 0.501011 264867_at unknown protein At1g24150 3.53 −1 0.030643 0.978236 261193_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g32920 3.53 −1.12 0.009489 0.382199 gi_15450636_gb_AY052686.1_(—) 261339_at protein kinase, putative similar to many predicted At1g35710 3.51 1.32 0.013195 0.062019 protein kinases 267490_at putative receptor-like protein kinase At2g19130 3.5 1 0.015702 0.997521 259561_at hypothetical protein; supported by cDNA: At1g21250 3.49 1.52 0.005151 0.042781 gi_14532585_gb_AY039917.1_(—) 263228_at putative reticuline oxidase-like protein similar to At1g30700 3.48 1.07 0.007823 0.648304 GB: P30986 from [Eschscholzia californica] (berberine bridge-forming enzyme), ESTs gb|F19886, gb|Z30784 and gb|Z30785 come from this gene; supported by cDNA: gi_16930506_gb_AF419607.1_AF419607 255627_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g00955 3.48 1.08 0.009206 0.72176 Ceres: 93818. 254256_at serine/threonine kinase-like protein serine/threonine At4g23180 3.45 −1.2 0.002919 0.140829 kinase, Brassica oleracea; supported by cDNA: gi_13506744_gb_AF224705.1_AF224705 260135_at calmodulin-related protein similar to GB: P25070 At1g66400 3.44 −1.11 0.013883 0.371779 from [Arabidopsis thaliana], contains Pfam profile: PF00036 EF hand (4 copies); supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 95959. 260206_at putative protein kinase contains Pfam profile: At1g70740 3.43 −1.12 0.012329 0.420329 PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 259887_at putative protein kinase similar to protein kinase At1g76360 3.42 1.1 0.008975 0.501823 (APK1A); contains Pfam profile: PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 262383_at disease resistance protein, putative similar to disease At1g72940 3.41 1.18 0.011942 0.230832 resistance protein GI: 9758876 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 256177_at protein kinase, putative contains Pfam profile: At1g51620 3.41 1.23 0.01444 0.359679 PF00069: Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 245777_at unknown protein contains similarity to At1g73540 3.41 −1.25 0.026487 0.341823 diphosphoinositol polyphosphate phosphohydrolase GI: 3978224 from [Homo sapiens] 249221_at serine/threonine protein kinase-like protein At5g42440 3.4 −1.02 0.005295 0.883947 245448_at disease resistance RPP5 like protein At4g16860 3.4 −1.15 0.027985 0.375642 254869_at protein kinase-like protein KI domain interacting At4g11890 3.37 2.12 0.007665 0.003284 kinase 1-Zea mays, PIR2: T02053 256755_at calmodulin, putative similar to GB: P07463 from At3g25600 3.37 −1.05 0.007284 0.663209 [Paramecium tetraurelia] (Cell 62 (1), 165-174 (1990)) 264107_s_at putative receptor-like protein kinase At2g13790 3.34 1.16 0.008131 0.293891 266017_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At2g18690 3.32 1.36 0.008527 0.108178 gi_14517479_gb_AY039575.1_(—) 263776_s_at putative cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channel At2g46440 3.32 1.21 0.026465 0.278033 protein 245193_at F12A21.6 hypothetical protein At1g67810 3.32 1.17 0.00613 0.205789 256522_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g66160 3.3 −1.22 0.004073 0.074994 Ceres: 35218. 248703_at dermal glycoprotein precursor, extracellular-like At5g48430 3.28 1.09 0.005001 0.574329 260434_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan+ At1g68330 3.27 −1.14 0.006128 0.614427 252652_at putative chloroplast prephenate dehydratase similar At3g44720 3.23 1.08 0.004759 0.192206 to bacterial PheA gene products 260023_at unknown protein At1g30040 3.21 1.26 0.004354 0.301041 251640_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g57450 3.21 −1.03 0.002724 0.717428 Ceres: 12522. 264314_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g70420 3.18 1.24 0.00926 0.33473 gi_15010575_gb_AY045589.1_(—) 262549_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g31290 3.18 1.36 0.017342 0.141779 GB: AAF24586 GI: 6692121 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 261459_at O-methyltransferase, putative similar to At1g21100 3.18 1.37 0.006504 0.199125 GB: AAF28353 from [Fragaria x ananassa]; supported by cDNA: gi_15982843_gb_AY057529.1_(—) 249139_at Cys2/His2-type zinc finger protein 3 At5g43170 3.18 −1.11 0.014619 0.403291 (dbj|BAA85109.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 9878. 248980_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g45090 3.18 −1.03 0.006572 0.837241 (pir||T04765) 264660_at putative glutamyl-tRNA reductase 2 precursor At1g09940 3.17 −1.02 0.009351 0.857849 similar to GB: P49294 and to A. thaliana HEMA2 (gb|U27118) 254014_at NPR1 like protein regulatory protein NPR1- At4g26120 3.17 1.03 0.021113 0.898299 Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g1773295 252126_at putative disease resistance protein At3g50950 3.17 1.08 0.00517 0.256863 262228_at protein kinase, putative similar to protein kinase 1 At1g68690 3.16 1.18 0.018754 0.421396 GB: BAA94509 GI: 7573596 from [Populus nigra]; supported by cDNA: gi_14334805_gb_AY035076.1_(—) 259626_at bZIP transcription factor, putative contains Pfam At1g42990 3.15 1.08 0.006031 0.361959 profile: PF00170: bZIP transcription factor; supported by cDNA: gi_15028322_gb_AY045964.1_(—) 254063_at receptor kinase-like protein receptor-like protein At4g25390 3.15 −1.09 0.021274 0.509081 kinase, RLK3-Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: e1363211 259443_at chitinase, putative similar to chitinase GI: 1237025 At1g02360 3.14 1.33 0.010757 0.097826 from [Arachis hypogaea] 266615_s_at putative monooxygenase; supported by full-length At2g29720 3.13 −1 0.006073 0.993995 cDNA: Ceres: 34214. 251507_at putative protein CND41, chloroplast nucleoid DNA At3g59080 3.13 −1.26 0.019246 0.076416 binding protein-Nicotiana tabacum, EMBL: D26015; supported by cDNA: gi_15983375_gb_AF424562.1_AF424562 246870_at ferrochelatase-I At5g26030 3.12 −1.03 0.007971 0.563075 261063_at transcription factor scarecrow-like 14, putative At1g07520 3.09 1.05 0.0041 0.648222 similar to GB: AAD24412 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] (Plant J. 18 (1), 111-119 (1999)) 260296_at putative disease resistance protein similar to disease At1g63750 3.07 −1.24 0.035995 0.346342 resistance protein (RPP1-WsC) GB: AAC72979 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 248868_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g46780 3.07 1.08 0.012841 0.668687 (gb|AAC61815.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 254442. 267069_at unknown protein At2g41010 3.06 −1 0.022932 0.942266 261143_at unknown protein At1g19770 3.06 −1.07 0.003012 0.469481 255116_at receptor protein kinase-like protein receptor protein At4g08850 3.06 1.13 0.013035 0.33618 kinase-like protein-Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: T05898 253284_at putative protein hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein At4g34150 3.05 1.01 0.004615 0.829133 precursor, Nicotiana tabacum, PIR2: S06733; supported by cDNA: gi_15724315_gb_AF412098.1_AF412098 252903_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At4g39570 3.05 −1.05 0.005467 0.697229 Arabidopsis thaliana 254847_at putative phospholipase D-gamma phospholipase D- At4g11850 3.04 −1.01 0.014523 0.911568 gamma-Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g2653885; supported by cDNA: gi_2653884_gb_AF027408.1_AF027408 251937_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At3g53400 3.04 1.04 0.035806 0.858509 thaliana 256366_at protein kinase, putative contains Pfam profile: At1g66880 3.03 1.12 0.002701 0.411044 PF00069: Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 247393_at unknown protein At5g63130 3.03 −1.65 0.018398 0.063566 260556_at putative endochitinase At2g43620 3.02 1.32 0.003455 0.0287 259445_at dioxygenase, putative similar to dioxygenase At1g02400 3.01 1.16 0.012122 0.130623 GI: 1666096 from [Marah macrocarpus] 259298_at putative disease resistance protein similar to Cf-2 At3g05370 3.01 −1.08 0.040444 0.621247 disease resistance protein GB: AAC15780 from [Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium] 257644_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g25780 3.01 1.19 0.022772 0.336306 Ceres: 3457. 253628_at xyloglucan endo-1,4-beta-D-glucanase-like protein At4g30280 3.01 1.29 0.005842 0.110446 xyloglucan endo-1,4-beta-D-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.—) XTR-3-Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: S71222; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 142204. 249072_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g44060 3.01 1.08 0.007698 0.56653 (gb|AAD10670.1) 253257_at extra-large G-protein-like extra-large G-protein, At4g34390 3 −1.06 0.004333 0.352585 Arabidopsis thaliana, AF060942 253124_at putative protein unknown protein Arabidopsis At4g36030 3 −1.07 0.016993 0.706449 thaliana, PATX: E248475 250676_at harpin-induced protein-like; supported by cDNA: At5g06320 3 1.02 0.003772 0.798472 gi_9502175_gb_AF264699.1_AF264699 266037_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g05940 2.99 1.03 0.011895 0.742301 domain profile (PDOC00100); supported by cDNA: gi_15810412_gb_AY056245.1_(—) 254314_at extensin-like protein hybrid proline-rich protein, At4g22470 2.98 −1.04 0.013677 0.797081 Zea mays, PIR2: JQ1663 252825_at small GTP-binding protein-like SR1 Nt-rab6, At4g39890 2.97 1.25 0.014269 0.471148 Nicotiana tabacum, L29273; supported by cDNA: gi_14423429_gb_AF386952.1_AF386952 260401_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g69840 2.96 1.19 0.013016 0.197702 GB: CAA10289 [Cicer arietinum] 250821_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g05190 2.95 −1.11 0.008801 0.532383 (emb|CAB88044.1) 245265_at hypothetical protein; supported by cDNA: At4g14400 2.95 1.34 0.046774 0.092249 gi_15810232_gb_AY056155.1_(—) 264289_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g61890 2.94 1.17 0.016735 0.217477 GI: 2894569 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15028186_gb_AY045916.1_(—) 259410_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g13340 2.94 1.45 0.015002 0.097363 253958_at putative protein RING zinc finger protein, Gallus At4g26400 2.94 1.06 0.002619 0.621194 gallus 249078_at phytochelatin synthase (gb|AAD41794.1); At5g44070 2.94 −1.02 0.008033 0.806261 supported by cDNA: gi_14532653_gb_AY039951.1_(—) 267293_at hypothetical protein At2g23810 2.93 −1.06 0.004637 0.578539 259992_at putative heat shock transcription factor contains At1g67970 2.93 −1.01 0.006051 0.910383 Pfam profile: PF00447 HSF-type DNA-binding domain; N-terminal portion similar to heat shock transcription factor proteins: GB: CAA74397 [Arabidopsis thaliana], GB: S25478 [Lycopersicon esculentum] 252862_at putative L-ascorbate oxidase L-ascorbate oxidase, At4g39830 2.93 1.13 0.009756 0.383415 Cucumis sativus, PIR1: KSKVAO 249550_at protein kinase-like protein wall-associated kinase 4 At5g38210 2.93 −1.13 0.00676 0.38925 (wak4), Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: ATH9695 247279_at arabinogalactan-protein (gb|AAC77823.1); At5g64310 2.93 −1.01 0.00661 0.937671 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 25423. 265450_at hypothetical protein predicted by genefinder At2g46620 2.92 −1.03 0.014924 0.733991 251479_at serine/threonine-specific kinase lecRK1 At3g59700 2.91 −1.08 0.008769 0.515335 precursor, lectin receptor-like 249418_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At5g39780 2.91 1.1 0.015458 0.521455 thaliana 266247_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan At2g27660 2.89 −1.11 0.009688 0.350456 249252_at putative protein contains similarity to unknown At5g42010 2.89 −1.05 0.014073 0.747236 protein (gb|AAF19687.1) 255291_at putative calcium dependent protein kinase At4g04700 2.88 −1.04 0.023496 0.890022 253747_at serine threonine-specific kinase like protein serine At4g29050 2.87 −1.09 0.011457 0.626019 threonine-specific kinase lecRK1-Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: S68589 250323_at putative protein hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein, At5g12880 2.87 1.06 0.009216 0.469664 kidney bean, PIR: A29356 262801_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g21010 2.86 1.08 0.017653 0.443505 Ceres: 17521. 251061_at putative protein hypothetical protein ARC1- At5g01830 2.86 1.18 0.015743 0.623238 Brassica napus, PIR: T08872 265132_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g23830 2.84 −1.07 0.017467 0.652241 gi_16604403_gb_AY058100.1_(—) 260439_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g68340 2.84 −1.04 0.003917 0.840841 genscan+; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 3385. 260227_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical proteins At1g74450 2.83 −1.16 0.009649 0.269848 GB: AAD39276 [Arabidopsis thaliana], GB: CAB53491 [Oryza sativa]; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 108193. 261453_at O-methyltransferase, putative similar to At1g21130 2.82 −1.15 0.010888 0.513201 GB: AAF28353 from [Fragaria x ananassa]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 101583. 254432_at reticuline oxidase-like protein reticuline oxidase, At4g20830 2.82 1.19 0.046062 0.572211 Eschscholzia californica, PIR: A41533; supported by cDNA: gi_15983492_gb_AF424621.1_AF424621 253971_at fructose-bisphosphate aldolase-like protein At4g26530 2.82 −1.02 0.016712 0.805977 fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR1: ADMU; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 34690. 262165_at putative acyl-CoA: 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate At1g75020 2.81 −1.13 0.010295 0.275107 acyltransferase similar to acyl-CoA: 1-acylglycerol- 3-phosphate acyltransferase GB: CAB09138 (Brassica napus); contains Pfam profile: PF01553 Acyltransferase; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 115679. 258275_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g15760 2.81 −1.09 0.002884 0.259472 Ceres: 8259. 255564_s_at hypothetical protein T15B16.8 At4g01750 2.81 1.28 0.004474 0.364426 253377_at putative protein NBS/LRR disease resistance protein At4g33300 2.81 1.03 0.008788 0.64371 (RFL1)-Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g3309619 260220_at putative MYB family transcription factor contains At1g74650 2.8 −1.05 0.014801 0.787419 Pfam profile: PF00249 Myb-like DNA-binding domain 256583_at hypothetical protein At3g28850 2.8 1.08 0.009872 0.39554 252193_at R2R3-MYB transcription factor; supported by At3g50060 2.8 −1.67 0.007202 0.02821 cDNA: gi_15983427_gb_AF424588.1_AF424588 247509_at heat shock factor 6 At5g62020 2.8 1.11 0.004718 0.497285 246368_at light repressible receptor protein kinase, putative At1g51890 2.8 1.32 0.007014 0.17566 similar to light repressible receptor protein kinase GI: 1321686 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 259507_at unknown protein At1g43910 2.79 1.41 0.005884 0.156323 251769_at receptor kinase-like protein receptor kinase At3g55950 2.79 1.02 0.037029 0.858886 homolog CRINKLY4, maize, PIR: T04108 250335_at lysophospholipase-like protein lysophospholipase At5g11650 2.78 1.07 0.004853 0.539031 homolog LPL1, Oryza sativa, EMBL: AF039531; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 15284. 248134_at putative protein contains similarity to integral At5g54860 2.78 1.09 0.010767 0.465367 membrane protein 246988_at putative protein strong similarity to unknown protein At5g67340 2.78 1.18 0.01807 0.609865 (pir||T00518) 247707_at scarecrow-like 11-like scarecrow-like 11, At5g59450 2.76 −1.06 0.028093 0.649019 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF036307; supported by cDNA: gi_14334655_gb_AY035001.1_(—) 256497_at ORF1, putative similar to ORF1 GI: 457716 from At1g31580 2.75 1.39 0.004888 0.080053 (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by cDNA: gi_16649160_gb_AY059950.1_(—) 264008_at unknown protein At2g21120 2.74 −1.01 0.003042 0.876414 264716_at matrix metalloproteinase, putative similar to matrix At1g70170 2.73 −1.02 0.005524 0.873758 metalloproteinase GI: 7159629 from [Cucumis sativus] 261445_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g28380 2.73 −1.06 0.02128 0.701956 gi_16604598_gb_AY059744.1_(—) 256968_at unknown protein At3g21070 2.73 −1.14 0.014315 0.494381 256763_at unknown protein At3g16860 2.73 −1.06 0.01099 0.724699 255605_at hypothetical protein At4g01090 2.73 −1.18 0.02941 0.263496 254652_at DNA binding-like protein SPF1 protein, sweet At4g18170 2.73 1.05 0.048645 0.839297 protein, PIR2: S51529 and WRKY protein family, Petroselinum crispum, MNOS: S72443, MNOS: S72444, MNOS: S72445 247532_at putative protein disease resistance protein kinase Pto, At5g61560 2.73 −1.03 0.020053 0.845513 Lycopersiocon esculentum, PIR: A49332 264106_at unknown protein At2g13780 2.71 1.2 0.013998 0.074305 265075_at hypothetical protein similar to embryo-abundant At1g55450 2.7 −1.08 0.016743 0.546091 protein GB: L47672 GI: 1350530 from [Picea glauca]; supported by cDNA: gi_14335021_gb_AY037190.1_(—) 256793_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g22160 2.69 −1.09 0.013465 0.391312 Ceres: 8081. 258551_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g06890 2.68 −1.02 0.016594 0.966946 genscan+; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 262487. 255740_at wall-associated kinase, putative similar to wall- At1g25390 2.68 −1.15 0.012139 0.281008 associated kinase 1 GI: 3549626 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15529241_gb_AY052245.1_(—) 246099_at blue copper binding protein; supported by full- At5g20230 2.67 1.7 0.008061 0.011289 length cDNA: Ceres: 7767. 264616_at unknown protein At2g17740 2.67 1 0.022917 0.884668 254042_at xyloglucan endo-1,4-beta-D-glucanase (XTR-6); At4g25810 2.66 1.07 0.002288 0.480301 supported by cDNA: gi_1244757_gb_U43488.1_ATU43488 246289_at putative protein predicted protein At2g41010- At3g56880 2.66 −1.02 0.010884 0.82618 Arabidopsis thaliana; EMBL: AC004261; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 39584. 266792_at putative sucrose/H+ symporter At2g02860 2.65 1.05 0.005194 0.618209 265853_at putative RING zinc finger protein At2g42360 2.64 1.27 0.007875 0.101121 258786_at putative syntaxin contains Pfam profile: PF00804 At3g11820 2.64 1.16 0.005501 0.095192 syntaxin; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 38899. 247940_at phosphatidylserine decarboxylase At5g57190 2.64 −1.08 0.02156 0.742477 257083_s_at non-race specific disease resistance protein, putative At3g20590 2.63 −1.1 0.022335 0.571353 contains non-consensus CT donor splice site at exon 1; potential pseudogene; similar to non-race specific disease resistance protein GB: AAB95208 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 264434_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan; supported At1g10340 2.61 1.14 0.016538 0.421888 by cDNA: gi_13937239_gb_AF372975.1_AF372975 263804_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g40270 2.61 1.02 0.002801 0.766513 domain profile (PDOC00100); supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 123911. 249896_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At5g22530 2.61 1.12 0.01975 0.439704 gi_14532613_gb_AY039931.1_(—) 249459_at peroxidase ATP24a At5g39580 2.61 −1.24 0.011537 0.098646 247740_at receptor-like protein kinase precursor-like receptor- At5g58940 2.61 1.11 0.013363 0.45095 like protein kinase precursor, Madagascar periwinkle, PIR: T10060 246931_at putative protein apoptosis-related protein PNAS-4, At5g25170 2.6 1.01 0.003003 0.89146 Homo sapiens, EMBL: AF229834; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 263500. 265713_at putative integral membrane protein At2g03530 2.59 −1.18 0.010284 0.275593 263931_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g36220 2.59 1.04 0.032332 0.640228 Ceres: 12251. 264834_at unknown protein similar to ESTs gb|AA605440 and At1g03730 2.58 1.02 0.006042 0.863016 gb|H37232; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 30716. 259852_at disulfide bond formation protein, putative similar to At1g72280 2.58 1.24 0.014598 0.356183 GI: 6642925 from [Mus musculus] 252539_at putative protein At3g45730 2.58 1.3 0.009508 0.150314 252378_at receptor kinase-like protein protein kinase Xa21- At3g47570 2.58 1.12 0.02363 0.435178 Oryza sativa, PIR: A57676; supported by cDNA: gi_15810450_gb_AY056264.1_(—) 251684_at putative protein At3g56410 2.57 1.08 0.023561 0.592162 261719_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g18380 2.56 1.36 0.016331 0.094821 GB: AAF25996 GI: 6714300 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 254248_at serine/threonine kinase serine/threonine kinase, At4g23270 2.56 −1.04 0.006144 0.687459 Brassica oleracea 253204_at GTP binding protein beta subunit; supported by At4g34460 2.56 −1.01 0.007411 0.949586 cDNA: gi_15028006_gb_AY045860.1_(—) 249361_at protein kinase-like protein protein kinase ATN1, At5g40540 2.55 −1 0.004647 0.984046 Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: S61766 248665_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g48655 2.55 1.02 0.009359 0.848153 Ceres: 12974. 253455_at putative protein At4g32020 2.54 −1.01 0.00825 0.888496 248978_at putative protein contains similarity to disease At5g45070 2.54 −1.05 0.030143 0.671649 resistance protein 248870_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g46710 2.54 1.03 0.004547 0.48662 (pir||T05076); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 42747. 252170_at hypothetical protein; supported by cDNA: At3g50480 2.53 1.09 0.00647 0.431092 gi_13605735_gb_AF361849.1_AF361849 264636_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g65490 2.52 1.04 0.019945 0.653146 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 2118. 264400_at glucose-6-phosphate/phosphate-translocator At1g61800 2.51 −1.13 0.035853 0.380949 precursor, putative similar to glucose-6- phosphate/phosphate-translocator precursor GI: 2997591 from [Pisum sativum]; supported by cDNA: gi_14596172_gb_AY042874.1_(—) 245567_at germin precursor oxalate oxidase At4g14630 2.51 −1.12 0.010395 0.322763 264083_at ethylene reponse factor-like AP2 domain At2g31230 2.5 −1.09 0.007348 0.596007 transcription factor 261220_at ER lumen protein-retaining receptor similar to At1g19970 2.5 1.11 0.01247 0.321046 SP: O44017 from [Entamoeba histolytica] 259546_at unknown protein At1g35350 2.49 −1.02 0.009622 0.86289 266101_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At2g37940 2.47 1.05 0.006689 0.366431 gi_16604321_gb_AY058059.1_(—) 262384_at disease resistance protein, putative similar to disease At1g72950 2.47 −1.07 0.017043 0.63375 resistance protein GI: 9758876 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 251423_at regulatory protein-like regulatory protein preg, At3g60550 2.47 1.04 0.005454 0.86361 Neurospora crassa, PIR: S52974 259312_at putative RING-H2 zinc finger protein ATL6 similar At3g05200 2.46 −1.11 0.020543 0.252889 to GB: AAD33584 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_4928402_gb_AF132016.1_AF132016 267624_at putative protein kinase At2g39660 2.45 −1.1 0.015362 0.313576 266230_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan and At2g28830 2.45 1.03 0.03586 0.739871 genefinder; supported by cDNA: gi_14334729_gb_AY035038.1_(—) 260656_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g19380 2.45 1.12 0.012154 0.152235 253664_at NADPH-ferrihemoprotein reductase (ATR2) At4g30210 2.45 1.06 0.014893 0.463357 251259_at putative protein phosphoprotein phosphatase (EC At3g62260 2.45 1.09 0.008555 0.495561 3.1.3.16) 1A-alpha-Homo sapiens, PIR: S22423; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 20050. 267357_at putative nematode-resistance protein; supported by At2g40000 2.44 1.16 0.031618 0.266241 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 35056. 254521_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g44810 2.44 −1.09 0.041638 0.416086 (gb|AAC79139.1) 263419_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g17220 2.43 1.09 0.008341 0.27009 domain profile (PDOC00100); supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 13257. 253323_at putative protein protein phosphatase Wip1, Homo At4g33920 2.43 −1.13 0.025096 0.456412 sapiens, PID: g2218063; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 40123. 258983_at putative aminotransferase similar to beta-alanine- At3g08860 2.42 1.14 0.006331 0.051755 pyruvate aminotransferase GB: BAA19549 [Rattus norvegicus], alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase GB: Q64565 [Rattus norvegicus]; Pfam HMM hit: Aminotransferases class-III pyridoxal-phosphate 249583_at CALMODULIN-RELATED PROTEIN 2, TOUCH- At5g37770 2.42 −1.17 0.006305 0.208762 INDUCED (TCH2); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 25475. 258046_at MAP kinase kinase 5 identical to GB: BAA28831 At3g21220 2.41 1.13 0.013633 0.416118 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_3219272_dbj_AB015316.1_AB015316 250990_at serine/threonine-specific protein kinase NAK; At5g02290 2.41 −1.12 0.012886 0.320809 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 27477. 249423_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g39785 2.41 −1.13 0.026115 0.657212 Ceres: 118847. 248814_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g46910 2.4 −1.03 0.007949 0.787827 (pir||T06699) 254204_at putative protein CGI-58 protein-Homo At4g24160 2.38 −1.04 0.010591 0.590709 sapiens, PID: g4929585 252485_at disease resistance protein RPP13-like protein At3g46530 2.37 −1.05 0.012107 0.677972 disease resistance protein RPP8-Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF089710; supported by cDNA: gi_14334999_gb_AY037179.1_(—) 265620_at unknown protein At2g27310 2.35 −1.2 0.049206 0.345125 264756_at receptor protein kinase (IRK1), putative similar to At1g61370 2.35 −1.07 0.010494 0.634376 receptor protein kinase (IRK1) GI: 836953 from [Ipomoea trifida] 266993_at nodulin-like protein; supported by cDNA: At2g39210 2.33 1.12 0.017636 0.371447 gi_16930478_gb_AF419593.1_AF419593 256735_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At3g29400 2.33 −1.12 0.006192 0.192654 256425_at disease resistance protein, putative similar to disease At1g33560 2.33 1.04 0.010206 0.488005 resistance protein RPP1-WsB GB: BAB01321 GI: 9279731 from (Arabidopsis thaliana) 250829_at disease resistance-like protein rpp8, Arabidopsis At5g04720 2.33 −1.08 0.013721 0.38143 thaliana, EMBL: AF089711; supported by cDNA: gi_15292720_gb_AY050794.1_(—) 248698_at receptor-like protein kinase; supported by cDNA: At5g48380 2.33 1.13 0.021685 0.326459 gi_13605826_gb_AF367312.1_AF367312 247594_at putative protein farnesylated protein GMFP5, At5g60800 2.33 1.37 0.027382 0.054007 Glycine max, EMBL: U64916 266166_at putative glucosyltransferase; supported by full- At2g28080 2.32 −1.05 0.018474 0.764619 length cDNA: Ceres: 13761. 262745_at lipase, putative contains Pfam profile: PF00657 At1g28600 2.32 −1.12 0.015545 0.267784 Lipase/Acylhydrolase with GDSL-like motif; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 37307. 257407_at unknown protein At1g27100 2.32 −1.19 0.009875 0.068971 258282_at unknown protein At3g26910 2.31 1.14 0.003241 0.168885 252373_at disease resistance protein EDS1; supported by At3g48090 2.31 −1.07 0.011996 0.442811 cDNA: gi_15028150_gb_AY046025.1_(—) 250956_at putative protein At5g03210 2.31 −1.02 0.03092 0.993512 248851_s_at disease resistance protein-like; supported by cDNA: At5g46490 2.3 1.09 0.009234 0.638209 gi_16323098_gb_AY057653.1_(—) 254924_at MAP kinase(ATMPK5) possible internal deletion At4g11330 2.29 −1.14 0.010478 0.330061 at position 161, missing one A residue; reference GI: 457401; supported by cDNA: gi_457401_dbj_D21841.1_ATHATMPK5 250279_at ABA-responsive protein-like ABA-responsive At5g13200 2.29 −1.11 0.021853 0.295383 protein, Hordeum vulgare, EMBL: AF026538 263221_at UDP-galactose 4-epimerase-like protein similar to At1g30620 2.28 1.23 0.015145 0.343241 proteins from many bacterial species including [Bacillus subtilis] and [Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum] 261718_at wall-associated kinase, putative similar to wall- At1g18390 2.28 1.07 0.008635 0.505026 associated kinase 2 GB: CAB42872 GI: 4826399 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 250398_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At5g11000 2.28 1.16 0.012015 0.299864 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 263168. 256922_at hypothetical protein contains similarity to flavonol At3g19010 2.27 −1.04 0.029488 0.80973 synthase (FLS) GB: Q41452 from [Solanum tuberosum], contains Pfam profile: PF00671 Iron/Ascorbate oxidoreductase family; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 41506. 267530_at putative receptor-like protein kinase At2g41890 2.26 −1.11 0.028311 0.389366 256627_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At3g19970 2.26 1.05 0.015238 0.715164 gi_14532501_gb_AY039875.1_(—) 255880_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan+ At1g67060 2.26 −1.01 0.015412 0.926607 254660_at receptor serine/threonine kinase-like protein At4g18250 2.26 −1.06 0.024187 0.802259 receptor serine/threonine kinase PR5K, PATCHX: G1235680 264528_at hypothetical protein similar to Human XE169 At1g30810 2.25 1.03 0.00644 0.758062 protein (gi|3033385); similar to EST gb|T88128 257784_at geranylgeranylated protein, putative similar to At3g26970 2.25 1.17 0.00182 0.287058 ATGP4 GB: AAD00115 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 255344_s_at putative receptor-like protein kinase At4g04540 2.25 1.01 0.022152 0.792265 255080_at arabinogalactan-protein homolog arabinogalactan- At4g09030 2.25 −1.04 0.036604 0.768432 protein-Arabiclopsis thaliana, PID: g3883126; supported by cDNA: gi_10880496_gb_AF195891.1_AF195891 259325_at unknown protein At3g05320 2.24 −1.15 0.016669 0.38111 252851_at putative protein CLATHRIN COAT ASSEMBLY At4g40080 2.24 −1.08 0.014274 0.543837 PROTEIN AP180-Mus musculus, SWISSPROT: Q61548; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 8970. 257071_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At3g28180 2.23 1.04 0.014928 0.697835 gi_15810494_gb_AY056286.1_(—) 253476_at S-receptor kinase-like protein serine/threonine- At4g32300 2.23 −1.04 0.009096 0.440827 specific protein kinase PK10 precursor, Oryza sativa, PIR2: S50767 254292_at putative protein At4g23030 2.22 1.13 0.007331 0.570308 249393_at disease resistance-like protein resistance gene Cf-4, At5g40170 2.22 −1.04 0.016127 0.647441 Lycopersicon hirsutum, EMBL: LHJ002235 249320_at disease resistance protein-like non-consensus TT At5g40910 2.22 1.13 0.049144 0.285783 donor splice site at exon 1 246327_at receptor-like serine/threonine kinase, putative similar At1g16670 2.22 1.02 0.008469 0.775987 to receptor-like serine/threonine kinase GI: 2465923 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_16649102_gb_AY059921.1_(—) 267537_at putative guanylate kinase; supported by cDNA: At2g41880 2.21 −1.02 0.012268 0.883883 gi_7861794_gb_AF204675.1_AF204675 251987_at CYTOCHROME P450 71B5; supported by cDNA: At3g53280 2.21 −1.27 0.010305 0.155225 gi_3164131_dbj_D78601.1_D78601 248981_at regulatory protein NPR1-like; transcription factor At5g45110 2.21 1.11 0.020899 0.556465 inhibitor I kappa B-like 265611_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g25510 2.2 −1.04 0.010382 0.533642 Ceres: 10730. 259071_at unknown protein similar to hin1 GB: CAA68848 At3g11650 2.2 −1.02 0.008823 0.776008 [Nicotiana tabacum]; supported by cDNA: gi_9502173_gb_AF264698.1_AF264698 249029_at disease resistance protein-like At5g44870 2.2 1.01 0.033247 0.925701 265648_at putative beta-1,3-glucanase; supported by full- At2g27500 2.19 −1.07 0.015702 0.521836 length cDNA: Ceres: 1126. 252921_at putative protein DNA damage-inducible protein- At4g39030 2.19 1.57 0.026714 0.071711 Synechocystis sp., PIR2: S77364 266749_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g47060 2.18 −1.05 0.013372 0.636302 domain profile (PDOC00100) 266231_at putative protein kinase At2g02220 2.18 −1.01 0.008538 0.969684 254878_at heat shock transcription factor-like protein heat At4g11660 2.18 1.15 0.015925 0.386918 shock transcription factor HSF29, Glycine max, PIR2: S59541 258764_at putative pectinesterase contains similarity to At3g10720 2.17 −1 0.01345 0.975443 pectinesterase GB: AAB57671 [Citrus sinensis] 266975_at hypothetical protein predicted by grail At2g39380 2.16 1.09 0.019477 0.60417 254921_at putative protein hypothetical protein F16G20.230- At4g11300 2.16 −1.01 0.016335 0.995903 Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: T05391; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 17771. 259937_s_at putative ABC transporter contains Pfam profile: At1g71330 2.14 1.25 0.009288 0.060426 PF00005 ABC transporter 255524_at hypothetical protein similar to pectinesterase At4g02330 2.14 −1.08 0.006633 0.352183 250018_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g18150 2.14 −1.05 0.005427 0.652846 (emb|CAB87627.1) 249987_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At5g18490 2.14 1.03 0.016862 0.931777 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 32414. 265722_at putative chlorophyll a/b binding protein; supported At2g40100 2.13 1.35 0.029801 0.022089 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6454. 262540_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g34260 2.13 1.1 0.022736 0.377889 264767_at hypothetical protein similar to putative At1g61380 2.12 1.15 0.012495 0.215443 serine/threonine kinase GI: 4585880 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 13461. 251192_at alpha galactosyltransferase-like protein alpha At3g62720 2.12 −1.11 0.0119 0.381401 galactosyltransferase-Trigonella foenum-graecum, EMBL: TFO245478; supported by cDNA: gi_15983425_gb_AF424587.1_AF424587 249984_at putative protein rsc43, Dictyostelium discoideum, At5g18400 2.12 1.05 0.006326 0.639984 EMBL: AF011338; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6084. 249237_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g42050 2.12 1.01 0.019097 0.90689 (sp|P37707); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6903. 249021_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g44820 2.12 −1.03 0.014955 0.780757 (pir||T04881) 266452_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan; supported At2g43320 2.11 1.01 0.010229 0.93189 by cDNA: gi_14517475_gb_AY039573.1_(—) 266168_at putative protease inhibitor; supported by full-length At2g38870 2.11 1.07 0.011954 0.24411 cDNA: Ceres: 11662. 257264_at hypothetical protein contains Pfam profile: PF01657 At3g22060 2.11 1.41 0.033325 0.224965 Domain of unknown function; supported by cDNA: gi_14334417_gb_AY034900.1_(—) 252133_at hypothetical protein hypothetical protein- At3g50900 2.11 −1.16 0.048974 0.506058 Arabidopsis thaliana chromosome 4 AP2 contig, PID: e353223; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 10044. 248230_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g53830 2.11 −1.24 0.009004 0.419028 (gb|AAF34839.1); supported by cDNA: gi_13926341_gb_AF372918.1_AF372918 247571_at snap25a; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g61210 2.11 1.1 0.033279 0.210386 Ceres: 14562. 253147_at protein kinase-like protein serine/threonine- At4g35600 2.1 1.1 0.007538 0.342113 specific protein kinase APK1, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR2: S28615 252976_s_at Phospholipase like protein Arabidopsis thaliana At4g38550 2.1 1.02 0.005166 0.820109 pEARLI 4 mRNA, PID: g871782 260975_at receptor-like serine/threonine kinase, putative At1g53430 2.09 −1.06 0.02462 0.698322 similar to receptor-like serine/threonine kinase GB: AAC50043 GI: 2465923 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 256799_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At3g18560 2.09 1.14 0.021195 0.61081 gi_14190488_gb_AF380644.1_AF380644 246529_at serine/threonine-specific protein kinase-like protein At5g15730 2.09 1.07 0.010794 0.454295 serine/threonine-specific protein kinase NPK15- Nicotiana tabacum; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 25636. 245731_at MAP kinase, putative similar to MAP kinase kinase At1g73500 2.09 −1.17 0.002926 0.06007 5 GI: 3219273 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 112118. 257785_at geranylgeranylated protein, putative similar to At3g26980 2.08 1.12 0.027564 0.130143 ATGP4 GB: AAD00115 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 251248_at P-glycoprotein-like proetin P-glycoprotein-2- At3g62150 2.08 1.18 0.006349 0.219814 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: Y10228 264841_at putative protein kinase similar to (Z71703), cdc2- At1g03740 2.07 1.03 0.009533 0.802311 like protein kinase; similar to ESTs gb|T20748, gb|T20464, and emb|Z17761; supported by cDNA: gi_14532735_gi_13430451 262360_at receptor protein kinase, putative similar to receptor At1g73080 2.07 1.07 0.049706 0.387954 protein kinase GI: 1389566 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 249705_at serine/threonine protein kinase-like At5g35580 2.07 1.06 0.02776 0.584833 259876_at putative DnaJ protein similar to dnaJ-like protein At1g76700 2.06 1.04 0.040672 0.74219 GB: CAA72705 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; Pfam HMM hit: DnaJ, prokaryotic heat shock protein 266316_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At2g27080 2.05 1.1 0.008877 0.282687 gi_15450380_gb_AY052291.1_(—) 262183_at unknown protein At1g77900 2.05 1.11 0.020307 0.383917 260345_at receptor protein kinase, putative similar to receptor At1g69270 2.05 −1.16 0.02512 0.233028 protein kinase GI: 1389566 from (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by cDNA: gi_4204848_gb_U55875.1_ATU55875 260635_at unknown protein At1g62420 2.04 −1.19 0.00958 0.160716 253780_at protein phosphatase 2C-like protein protein At4g28400 2.04 1.02 0.049077 0.837741 phosphatase 2C-fission yeast, PIR2: S54297; supported by cDNA: gi_16604584_gb_AY059737.1_(—) 251218_at CP12 protein precursor-like protein CP12 protein At3g62410 2.04 1.05 0.005991 0.528908 precursor, chloroplast-Pisum sativum, PIR: T06562; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 2721. 245641_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g25370 2.04 −1.04 0.0479 0.829103 Ceres: 118770. 263915_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan and At2g36430 2.03 −1.26 0.020455 0.076673 genefinder 254508_at putative protein gene F4P9.34 chromosome II BAC At4g20170 2.03 −1.03 0.032001 0.79323 F4P9, Arabidopsis thaliana 253292_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g33985 2.03 −1.02 0.00638 0.87138 Ceres: 9341. 265772_at putative protein kinase contains a protein kinase At2g48010 2.02 1.04 0.012695 0.802318 domain profile (PDOC00100); supported by cDNA: gi_14335115_gb_AY037237.1_(—) 265375_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g06530 2.02 1.08 0.015552 0.48528 Ceres: 91878. 265208_at putative giberellin beta-hydroxylase contains At2g36690 2.01 −1.35 0.006868 0.034666 similarities to GA beta-20-hydroxylase from tobacco (GB: 3327245) and to ethylene forming enzyme from Picea glauca (GB: L42466) 264746_at unknown protein similar to putative DNA-binding At1g62300 2.01 1.04 0.035415 0.469191 protein GI: 7268215 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_12658409_gb_AF331712.1_AF331712 260312_at putative disease resistance protein similar to disease At1g63880 2.01 −1.17 0.018521 0.24588 resistance protein RPP1-WsC GB: AAC72979 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 258173_at putative protein kinase similar to serine/threonine At3g21630 2.01 1.07 0.010988 0.529339 protein kinase Pto GB: AAB47421 [Lycopersicon esculentum] (Plant Cell 9 (1), 61-73 (1997)) 247617_at receptor like protein kinase receptor like protein At5g60270 2 −1.35 0.002662 0.065021 kinase, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: T47484 259213_at putative receptor ser/thr protein kinase similar to At3g09010 1.99 1.14 0.025161 0.261501 receptor kinase GB: S70769 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 124301. 258544_at disease resistance gene (RPM1) identical to disease At3g07040 1.99 −1.35 0.036667 0.073823 resistance gene (RPM1) GB: X87851 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 249777_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (gb At5g24210 1.99 −1.11 0.022053 0.175713 AAD29063.1) 249208_at allene oxide synthase (emb CAA73184.1); At5g42650 1.99 1.18 0.018657 0.090962 supported by cDNA: gi_6002956_gb_AF172727.1_AF172727 248014_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g56340 1.99 −1.05 0.045301 0.723728 (pir||T05064) 264223_s_at receptor kinase, putative similar to receptor kinase 1 At1g67520 1.98 1.1 0.021718 0.628018 GI: 9294449 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 262082_s_at wall-associated kinase 2, putative similar to At1g56120 1.98 1.12 0.030141 0.183617 receptor-like serine/threonine kinase GB: AAC50043 GI: 2465923 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 249835_s_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (gb At5g23510 1.98 −1.08 0.01545 0.400133 AAF01580.1) 245051_at putative WRKY-type DNA-binding protein; At2g23320 1.98 1.19 0.009782 0.0756 supported by cDNA: gi_13506742_gb_AF224704.1_AF224704 264351_at unknown protein Contains similarity to At1g03370 1.97 1.02 0.026436 0.91627 gb|AB011110 KIAA0538 protein from Homo sapiens brain and to phospholipid-binding domain C2 PF|00168. ESTs gb|AA585988 and gb|T04384 come from this gene 262926_s_at receptor kinase, putative similar to receptor kinase 1 At1g65790 1.97 −1.11 0.021308 0.451766 [Brassica rapa] GB: BAA23676 253326_at putative protein polygalacturonase(EC 3.2.1.15) At4g33440 1.97 −1.05 0.019179 0.7895 precursor-Erwinia carotovora, PID: g42330 246305_at putative protein protein At2g40060-Arabidopsis At3g51890 1.97 1.2 0.016172 0.125232 thaliana, EMBL: AF002109; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 93427. 245219_at viral resistance protein, putative similar to viral At1g59124 1.97 −1.03 0.010527 0.805754 resistance protein GI: 7110565 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 267393_at similar to axi 1 protein from Nicotiana tabacum At2g44500 1.96 −1.24 0.025881 0.212221 259109_at putative serine threonine protein phosphatase type At3g05580 1.96 1.08 0.029112 0.485226 one similar to GB: AAC39461 252037_at putative calmodulin calmodulin-Tetrahymena At3g51920 1.96 1.1 0.015438 0.170162 pyriformis (SGC5), PIR1: MCTE; supported by cDNA: gi_14190470_gb_AF380635.1_AF380635 258176_at B regulatory subunit of PP2A, putative similar to B At3g21650 1.95 −1.17 0.03792 0.249846 regulatory subunit of PP2A GB: AAB58902 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 256169_at receptor protein kinase, putative contains Pfam At1g51800 1.95 1.2 0.02536 0.076434 profiles: PF00069: Eukaryotic protein kinase domain, multiple PF00560: Leucine Rich Repeat 260974_at receptor-like serine/threonine kinase, putative At1g53440 1.94 −1.02 0.009705 0.677274 similar to receptor-like serine/threonine kinase GB: AAC50043 GI: 2465923 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252310_at GTPase activating-like protein GTPase activating At3g49350 1.94 −1 0.026703 0.921316 protein gyp7, Yarrowia lipolytica, EMBL: YLGYP7 251790_at elicitor responsive/phloem-like protein FIERG2 At3g55470 1.94 1.05 0.012047 0.64204 protein, Oryza sativa, PIR: T04363 249480_s_at protein kinase-like protein receptor-like protein At5g38990 1.94 −1.2 0.019593 0.193368 kinase (EC 2.7.1.—) precursor, Madagascar periwinkle, PIR: T10060 249364_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At5g40590 1.94 −1.06 0.023463 0.5486 thaliana 265385_at putative diacylglycerol kinase; supported by full- At2g20900 1.93 1.03 0.02312 0.814052 length cDNA: Ceres: 15863. 264580_at unknown protein EST gb|ATTS0295 comes from At1g05340 1.93 1.37 0.011774 0.077989 this gene; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 20380. 258608_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g03020 1.93 1.12 0.001615 0.228742 Ceres: 35949. 262868_at unknown protein At1g64980 1.92 1.03 0.010064 0.758096 260255_at putative protein kinase similar to p58 protein kinase At1g74330 1.92 −1.02 0.036098 0.867257 GB: AAB59449 (Homo sapiens); contains Pfam profile: PF00069 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 257902_at receptor kinase, putative similar to receptor kinase At3g28450 1.92 1.01 0.015158 0.903391 GB: AAD02501 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 254211_at phosphatase like protein phosphoprotein phosphatase At4g23570 1.92 1.08 0.021478 0.429462 (EC 3.1.3.16) PPT-rat 252009_at zinc finger-like protein zinc finger protein 216, At3g52800 1.92 1.01 0.025834 0.996803 Homo sapiens, EMBL: AF062072; supported by cDNA: gi_14596166_gb_AY042871.1_(—) 265460_at putative caltractin; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g46600 1.91 −1.28 0.011693 0.060574 Ceres: 7802. 262455_at Mlo protein, putative similar to Mlo protein At1g11310 1.91 −1 0.011858 0.991742 GB: Z83834 GI: 1877220 from [Hordeum vulgare]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 259664. 262119_s_at glutathione S-transferase, putative similar to At1g02930 1.91 1.13 0.011514 0.130465 glutathione S-transferase GI: 860955 from [Hyoscyamus muticus]; supported by cDNA: gi_15215607_gb_AY050332.1_(—) 257700_at unknown protein similar to unknown protein At3g12740 1.91 1.12 0.011076 0.18275 GB: AAD25612 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 37019. 253534_at cytochrome P450 monooxygenase; supported by At4g31500 1.91 1.1 0.008445 0.216603 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 13745. 248873_at disease resistance protein-like At5g46450 1.91 1.04 0.019311 0.616452 251071_at putative protein receptor protein kinases At5g01950 1.89 −1.02 0.019672 0.77446 250419_at RPP1 disease resistance protein-like disease At5g11250 1.89 −1.16 0.007043 0.23803 resistance protein RPP1-WsC, Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AF098964 246018_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g10695 1.88 1.11 0.007166 0.390262 Ceres: 103171. 245151_at putative pectinesterase; supported by full-length At2g47550 1.88 1.02 0.027515 0.828056 cDNA: Ceres: 111254. 265499_at putative glucosyltransferase At2g15480 1.87 −1.11 0.043677 0.508495 263797_at putative WRKY-type DNA binding protein; At2g24570 1.87 1.08 0.018452 0.267205 supported by cDNA: gi_15991743_gb_AF425836.1_AF425836 263731_at metalloproteinase, putative similar to At1g59970 1.87 −1.03 0.019632 0.713464 metalloproteinase GI: 3128477 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252076_at LS1-like protein AT-LS1 product-Arabidopsis At3g51660 1.87 1.38 0.021217 0.088589 thaliana, EMBL: X58827; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 107294. 258460_at unknown protein At3g17330 1.86 1.07 0.005904 0.601401 245254_at ATP-sulfurylase; supported by cDNA: At4g14680 1.86 −1.38 0.031698 0.050397 gi_459143_gb_U06275.1_ATU06275 266536_at hypothetical protein predicted by genefinder; At2g16900 1.85 −1.07 0.006846 0.487008 supported by cDNA: gi_14532491_gb_AY039870.1_(—) 265479_at hypothetical protein; supported by full-length At2g15760 1.85 −1.04 0.048838 0.747296 cDNA: Ceres: 5. 262873_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g64700 1.85 1.2 0.006355 0.233681 258207_at putative GTP pyrophosphokinase similar to GTP At3g14050 1.85 −1.03 0.021111 0.736124 PYROPHOSPHOKINASE GB: O87331 from [Corynebacterium glutamicum]; supported by cDNA: gi_7141305_gb_AF225703.1_AF225703 267335_s_at putative beta-1,3-glucanase At2g19440 1.84 −1.28 0.025894 0.194876 245218_s_at viral resistance protein, putative, 5 partial similar to At1g58842 1.84 −1.02 0.034348 0.880456 viral resistance protein GI: 7110565 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 264082_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g28570 1.83 1.16 0.032702 0.469306 Ceres: 36244. 260037_at putative DNA-binding protein (RAV2-like) identical At1g68840 1.83 −1.21 0.029408 0.263089 to residues 34-352 of RAV2 GB: BAA34251 (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19561. 258134_at rubisco expression protein, putative similar to At3g24530 1.83 1.06 0.014418 0.42968 GB: O22034 from [Cyanidium caldarium] (J. Plant Res. 110, 235-245 (1997)); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 148454. 260314_at unknown protein similar to putative protein At1g63830 1.82 −1.01 0.00932 0.923314 GB: CAA20468 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 258956_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g01440 1.82 −1.19 0.013406 0.260869 genscan+; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 13653. 262649_at unknown protein contains similarity to xenotropic At1g14040 1.81 1.05 0.009938 0.587887 and polytropic retrovirus receptor GB: 4759334 257972_at putative protein kinase, ATN1 almost identical (1 At3g27560 1.81 −1.04 0.029115 0.724347 amino acid) to GB: S61766 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_16604327_gb_AY058062.1_(—) 250575_at putative protein At5g08240 1.81 1.08 0.022224 0.516011 259826_at arm repeat-containing protein, putative similar to At1g29340 1.8 1.01 0.02957 0.88125 GI: 2558938 from [Brassica napus] (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95 (1), 382-387 (1998)) 253364_at F-box protein family, AtFBX13 cotains similarity to At4g33160 1.8 1.01 0.015511 0.924255 fimbriata GI: 547307 from [Antirrhinum majus] 248895_at receptor protein kinase At5g46330 1.8 −1.03 0.014527 0.815519 263457_at unknown protein At2g22300 1.79 1.05 0.018298 0.6555 254553_at TMV resistance protein N-like TMV resistance At4g19530 1.79 −1.02 0.024648 0.800063 protein N, Nicotiana glutinosa, PIR2: A54810 254331_s_at cytochrome P450-like protein flavonoid 3,5- At4g22710 1.79 1.04 0.011357 0.507737 hydroxylase Hf1, Petunia x hybrida, PIR2: S38985 245838_at disease resistance protein, putative similar to disease At1g58410 1.79 1.04 0.045241 0.800057 resistance protein RPP8 GI: 8843900 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 267392_at putative beta-glucosidase At2g44490 1.78 −1.01 0.01293 0.768374 264879_at cotton fiber expressed protein, putative similar to At1g61260 1.78 −1.08 0.020899 0.6028 cotton fiber expressed protein 1 GI: 3264828 from [Gossypium hirsutum] 251804_at beta-1,3-glucanase-like protein probable beta-1,3- At3g55430 1.78 −1.02 0.033278 0.91732 glucanase, Triticum aestivum, PIR: T06268; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 8980. 249314_at receptor kinase-like protein At5g41180 1.78 1.15 0.034221 0.348074 245456_at disease resistance RPP5 like protein At4g16950 1.78 −1.02 0.014799 0.787739 267169_at putative oxidoreductase At2g37540 1.77 1.01 0.020016 0.912423 265079_at hypothetical protein contains similarity to zinc finger At1g55460 1.76 −1.02 0.015429 0.82749 protein rts2 GB: U16133 GI: 563244 from [Saccharomyces cerevisiae]; supported by cDNA: gi_13430439_gb_AF360132.1_AF360132 259230_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At3g07780 1.76 1.13 0.012523 0.041915 gi_15028084_gb_AY045899.1_(—) 250850_at putative protein; supported by cDNA: At5g04550 1.76 −1.14 0.015093 0.108003 gi_13605828_gb_AF367313.1_AF367313 261506_at choline kinase, putative similar to At1g71697 1.75 1.03 0.033638 0.818348 CHOLINE/ETHANOLAMINE KINASE GB: Q9Y259 from [Homo sapiens] 251028_at putative protein putative hydrolase At2g32150- At5g02230 1.75 −1.06 0.019924 0.548891 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AC006223; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 36724. 258336_at putative ethylene-inducible protein similar to At3g16050 1.74 1.13 0.019656 0.136759 ethylene-inducible protein GB: M88254 from [Hevea brasiliensis]; supported by cDNA: gi_4103951_gb_AF029980.1_AF029980 253415_at putative protein peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, At4g33060 1.74 1.15 0.022933 0.090678 Schizosaccharomyces pombe, gb: SPBC16H5 251643_at guanylate kinase-like protein guanylate kinase- At3g57550 1.74 1.12 0.014659 0.125227 Mus musculus, TREMBL: MMU53514_1; supported by cDNA: gi_7861797_gb_AF204676.1_AF204676 247384_at protein kinase; supported by cDNA: At5g63370 1.74 1.11 0.010852 0.400409 gi_16974578_gb_AY060555.1_(—) 265269_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan At2g42950 1.72 1.09 0.017878 0.365888 262571_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan+; At1g15430 1.72 1.12 0.022912 0.305054 supported by cDNA: gi_15293248_gb_AY051058.1_(—) 259466_at response regulator 5, putative similar to response At1g19050 1.72 −1.03 0.026729 0.64387 regulator 5 GI: 3953599 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_3953602_dbj_AB008490.1_AB008490 254723_at ammonium transport protein (AMT1); supported by At4g13510 1.72 1.08 0.011754 0.406577 cDNA: gi_14335079_gb_AY037219.1_(—) 253193_at putative protein SEC7 protein, Saccharomyces At4g35380 1.72 1.12 0.019937 0.504827 cerevisiae, PIR2: S49764 265461_at unknown protein similarity to ubiquitin family of At2g46500 1.71 1.18 0.019691 0.111325 proteins; supported by cDNA: gi_16930424_gb_AF419566.1_AF419566 253614_at putative protein heat shock protein 101-Triticum At4g30350 1.71 −1.07 0.030479 0.677967 aestivum, PID: g4558484 247816_at similar to unknown protein (pir||S75584); supported At5g58260 1.71 −1.12 0.011236 0.191707 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 3488. 262457_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g11200 1.7 −1.03 0.017609 0.719233 GB: CAB36801 GI: 4455265 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 40975. 255512_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At4g02195 1.69 1.06 0.014636 0.692316 gi_5059351_gb_AF154574.1_AF154574 251516_s_at putative protein hypothetical protein SPCC320.08- At3g59310 1.69 −1.06 0.017534 0.387516 Schizosaccharomyces pombe, PIR: T41303 254103_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g25030 1.68 1.04 0.007754 0.433098 Ceres: 16463. 245757_at phosphate-induced (phi-1) protein, putative similar At1g35140 1.68 −1.51 0.004633 0.081204 to phi-1 GB: BAA33810 GI: 3759184 from [Nicotiana tabacum]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 118937. 253387_at P-Protein-like protein P-Protein precursor, Solanum At4g33010 1.66 1.04 0.019086 0.463263 tuberosum, gb: Z99770; supported by cDNA: gi_14596024_gb_AY042800.1_(—) 247272_at GTP cyclohydrolase II; 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone-4- At5g64300 1.66 1 0.011375 0.888475 phoshate synthase (emb|CAA03884.1) supported by cDNA: gi_940382_dbj_D45165.1_ATHGTPCII 261788_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g15980 1.65 −1.05 0.013373 0.66035 Ceres: 122986. 249010_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At5g44580 1.65 1.05 0.008905 0.282782 gi_15027902_gb_AY045808.1_(—) 259074_at putative protein kinase contains Pfam profile: At3g02130 1.63 −1.03 0.007959 0.571341 Eukaryotic protein kinase domain 258394_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g15530 1.63 1.07 0.004284 0.548019 Ceres: 15303. 258665_at thioredoxin-like protein similar to thioredoxin H- At3g08710 1.61 1.03 0.0083 0.731007 type GB: P29448 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 253317_at putative protein At4g33960 −1.83 −1.77 0.010341 0.022397 260126_at putative hydroxymethyltransferase similar to serine At1g36370 −1.93 −1.86 0.005701 0.006964 hydroxymethyltransferage GB: P50433 from [Solanum tuberosum]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 122515. 246926_at putative protein At5g25240 −2.09 −2.21 0.019603 0.017979 258217_at unknown protein contains Pfam profile PF00398 At3g17990 −2.21 −2.27 0.009887 0.0037 Ribosomal RNA adenine dimethylases 258218_at methyltransferase, putative similar to At3g18000 −2.21 −2.29 0.00667 0.009294 methyltransferase GB: AAC01738 from [Amycolatopsis mediterranei] 254343_at PRH26 protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g21990 −2.22 −1.83 0.012838 0.031291 Ceres: 36866. 265121_at similar to flavin-containing monooxygenase At1g62560 −2.37 −1.87 0.020126 0.00922 (sp|P36366); similar to ESTs gb|R30018, gb|H36886, gb|N37822, and gb|T88100 similar to flavin- containing monooxygenase GB: AAA21178 GI: 349534 from [Oryctolagus cuniculus]; supported by cDNA: gi_13877746_gb_AF37013 251039_at putative protein hypothetical protein T6H20.90- At5g02020 −3.73 −1.91 0.001899 0.021967 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AL096859; supported by cDNA: gi_16648747_gb_AY058150.1_(—) 259015_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical protein At3g07350 −3.79 −1.81 0.001762 0.010373 GB: AAC17612 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 251012. 248676_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g48850 −5.55 −4.23 0.003428 0.003335 (gb|AAC72543.1) 249752_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (emb At5g24660 −5.87 −2.27 0.002654 0.005949 CAB62461.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 268701. 246935_at leucine-rich repeats containing protein grr1- At5g25350 −1.64 −1.09 0.01077 0.205242 Glycine max. EMBL: AF019910 261957_at methionine/cystathionine gamma lyase, putative At1g64660 −1.66 1.1 0.017509 0.258584 similar to methionine gamma-lyase GB: CAA04124.1 GI: 2330885 from [Trichomonas vaginalis]; supported by cDNA: gi_15450931_gb_AY054546.1_(—) 263284_at unknown protein At2g36100 −1.68 1.21 0.009385 0.046069 263064_at putative bZIP transcription factor contains a bZIP At2g18160 −1.68 −1.04 0.003705 0.553739 transcription factor basic domain signature (PDOC00036); supported by cDNA: gi_14335073_gb_AY037216.1_(—) 265102_at putative peroxidase similar to cationic peroxidase At1g30870 −1.69 1.01 0.008534 0.760053 (gi|1232069); similar to EST gb|AI100412; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 123968. 259773_at auxin-induced protein, putative similar to At1g29500 −1.69 1.03 0.017479 0.683467 SP: P33083 from [Glycine max] 258181_at nitrate transporter identical to nitrate transporter At3g21670 −1.7 −1.68 0.013713 0.025046 GB: CAB38706 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 111089. 252220_at putative protein hypothetical protein-Arabidopsis At3g49940 −1.7 −1.08 0.010242 0.277047 thaliana, EMBL: CAB38293; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 17840. 251524_at 3-isopropylmalate dehydratase-like protein (small At3g58990 −1.71 −1.3 0.015617 0.116619 subunit) 3-isopropylmalate dehydratase, small subunit-Thermotoga maritima, PIR: A72363 258008_at putative late embryogenesis abundant protein similar At3g19430 −1.72 1.26 0.007578 0.089324 to GB: AAB01570 from [Picea glauca] 263227_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At1g30750 −1.73 1.1 0.00931 0.284316 gi_15292976_gb_AY050922.1_(—) 263118_at putative 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase ESTs At1g03090 −1.73 −1.22 0.009453 0.064506 gb|H35836, gb|AA651295 and gb|AA721862 come from this gene; supported by cDNA: gi_533706_gb_U12536.1_ATU12536 248252_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g53250 −1.73 1.16 0.005785 0.142465 (emb|CAB71094.1) 256598_at cytochrome P450 homolog, putative similar to At3g30180 −1.74 1.01 0.019165 0.939678 cytochrome P450 homolog GB: U54770 GI: 1421740 from [Lycopersicon esculentum]; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 11278. 256062_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g07090 −1.75 1.03 0.007971 0.599694 Ceres: 28780. 263490_at F-box protein ORE9, AtFBL7 identical to F-box At2g42620 −1.76 1.14 0.014384 0.078788 containing protein ORE9 GI: 15420162 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 247477_at putative protein 21K protein precursor, Medicago At5g62340 −1.76 1.03 0.019734 0.869872 sativa, PIR: T09390 262399_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g49500 −1.77 −1.05 0.018923 0.609256 Ceres: 33047. 259856_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g68440 −1.77 −1.41 0.017035 0.048737 Ceres: 34166. 253510_at hypothetical protein At4g31730 −1.77 1.29 0.034578 0.053073 251017_at protein phosphatase-like protein protein At5g02760 −1.77 −1.04 0.007317 0.502031 phosphatase 2C homolog, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, EMBL: AF097667 248279_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g52910 −1.77 −1.28 0.016383 0.116964 (pir||T13959) 266191_at putative peroxidase At2g39040 −1.78 1.26 0.012061 0.114533 253217_at actin depolymerizing factor-like protein actin At4g34970 −1.78 1.31 0.011164 0.086098 depolymerizing factor1, Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: G1408471 262717_s_at putative cytochrome P450 similar to gb|AF069494 At1g16410 −1.79 −1.32 0.016905 0.014389 cytochrome P450 from Sinapis alba and is a member of the PF|00067 Cytochrome P450 family. EST gb|F14190 comes from this gene; supported by cDNA: gi_15208670_gb_AY035021.2_(—) 262517_at putative glutathione transferase Second of three At1g17180 −1.79 1.02 0.02066 0.906386 repeated putative glutathione transferases. 72% identical to glutathione transferase [Arabidopsis thaliana] (gi|4006934). Location of ests 191A10T7 (gb|R90188) and 171N13T7 (gb|R65532) 256926_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At3g22540 −1.79 1.21 0.036851 0.289954 256252_at glucosyl transferase, putative similar to zeatin O- At3g11340 −1.79 1.59 0.019921 0.01385 xylosyltransferase SP: P56725 [Phaseolus vulgaris (Kidney bean) (French bean)] 261226_at expansin S2 precursor, putative similar to At1g20190 −1.8 −1.05 0.012655 0.608442 GB: U30460 from [Cucumis sativus]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 11011. 251144_at anthranilate N-benzoyltransferase-like protein At5g01210 −1.8 1.11 0.008524 0.106988 anthranilate N-benzoyltransferase, clove pink, PIR: T10717; supported by cDNA: gi_15912268_gb_AY056412.1_(—) 265645_at unknown protein At2g27370 −1.81 1.1 0.025976 0.504975 249923_at conglutin gamma-like protein conglutin gamma At5g19120 −1.81 −1.05 0.007868 0.519593 precursor, Lupinus angustifolius, PIR: S21426; supported by cDNA: gi_15010797_gb_AY045700.1_(—) 247914_at xyloglucan endotransglycosylase At5g57540 −1.81 −1.03 0.026871 0.814009 265048_at jasmonate inducible protein, putative similar to At1g52050 −1.82 1.15 0.022645 0.325821 jasmonate inducible protein GI: 9279642 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252970_at small auxin up RNA (SAUR-AC1); supported by At4g38850 −1.82 1.19 0.007042 0.093178 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 14973. 249862_at PGPD14 protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g22920 −1.82 −1.2 0.013335 0.024948 Ceres: 41666. 266820_at putative AP2 domain transcription factor pFAM At2g44940 −1.84 −1.27 0.027529 0.279728 domain (PF00847)supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 31044. 258038_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g21260 −1.84 −1.25 0.024483 0.131574 Ceres: 260109. 252250_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At3g49790 −1.85 −1.2 0.011715 0.131586 thaliana 247337_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g63660 −1.85 1 0.021642 0.941607 (pir||S51637) 260167_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan+ At1g71970 −1.86 −1.06 0.02425 0.744455 257162_s_at ammonium transporter, putative similar to At3g24290 −1.86 −1.03 0.01777 0.655292 GB: AAD54638 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] (Plant Cell (1999) 11 (5), 937-948) 246275_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g36540 −1.86 1.06 0.011645 0.640095 Ceres: 123997. 245586_at hypothetical protein At4g14980 −1.86 1.16 0.037731 0.349881 245136_at putative auxin-regulated protein At2g45210 −1.86 1.1 0.020869 0.28948 262850_at signal response protein (GAI) identical to GAI At1g14920 −1.87 −1.05 0.012647 0.589803 GB: CAA75492 GI: 2569938 [Arabidopsis thaliana] (Genes Dev. In press); supported by cDNA: gi_16648833_gb_AY058194.1_(—) 258080_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g25930 −1.87 1.11 0.025451 0.601329 Ceres: 2767. 253255_at putative auxin-regulated protein auxin-induced At4g34760 −1.87 −1.2 0.007683 0.154545 protein X15, Glycine max, PIR2: JQ1097; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 10510. 246996_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g67420 −1.87 −1.17 0.029109 0.184764 (emb|CAB62102.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 40250. 265511_at putative glycine-rich protein; supported by cDNA: At2g05540 −1.88 −1.36 0.004653 0.037214 gi_15215617_gb_AY050337.1_(—) 264957_at F-box protein family, AtFBL5 contains similarity to At1g77000 −1.88 −1.06 0.021505 0.577258 F-box protein FBL2 GI: 6063090 from [Homo sapiens]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 3549. 264467_at unknown protein similar to EST At1g10140 −1.88 1.26 0.012415 0.023258 gb|AA598098; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 23916. 256828_at unknown protein At3g22970 −1.88 1.18 0.017776 0.232803 248178_at root cap protein 2-like protein At5g54370 −1.88 1.29 0.00898 0.087446 262396_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g49470 −1.89 −1.17 0.02115 0.065156 Ceres: 95546. 259976_at hypothetical protein; supported by full-length At1g76560 −1.89 −1.22 0.011496 0.142412 cDNA: Ceres: 147838. 252834_at putative protein RING-H2 zinc finger protein ATL6- At4g40070 −1.89 1.24 0.030751 0.235116 Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g4928403; supported by cDNA: gi_16930492_gb_AF419600.1_AF419600 250860_at amino acid transport-like protein amino acid At5g04770 −1.89 −1.19 0.02117 0.317647 transport protein AAT1, Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: S51171; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 158156. 265049_at jasmonate inducible protein, putative similar to At1g52060 −1.9 1.31 0.010222 0.06857 jasmonate inducible protein GI: 9279642 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 265050_at jasmonate inducible protein, putative similar to At1g52070 −1.91 1.32 0.019022 0.277021 jasmonate inducible protein GI: 9279641 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252991_at protein kinase like protein protein kinase 6 (EC At4g38470 −1.91 −1.43 0.022882 0.053733 2.7.1.—)-soybean, PIR2: S29851 250157_at prx10 peroxidase-like protein prx10 peroxidase, At5g15180 −1.91 1.05 0.009746 0.667075 Spinacia oleracea, EMBL: SOY16776 267457_at putative proline-rich protein At2g33790 −1.92 1.55 0.02688 0.053166 266882_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g44670 −1.92 −1.35 0.00935 0.103065 Ceres: 40641. 263208_at zinc finger protein 5, ZFP5 possible transcription At1g10480 −1.93 1.06 0.009367 0.572822 factor with C2H2 zinc finger; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 23664. 253722_at putative protein zinc finger transcription factor- At4g29190 −1.93 1.08 0.004592 0.184244 Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g2961542; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 16432. 251356_at putative protein hypothetical proteins-Arabidopsis At3g61060 −1.93 −1.13 0.007848 0.181064 thaliana; supported by cDNA: gi_14334587_gb_AY034967.1_(—) 245176_at unknown protein similar to GP|2104534|AF001308 At2g47440 −1.93 −1.64 0.031285 0.016259 (T10M13.11) 262170_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g74940 −1.94 1.09 0.007492 0.34681 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 24864. 260900_s_at branched-chain alpha keto-acid dehydrogenase, At1g21400 −1.94 −1.33 0.003536 0.091842 putative similar to branched-chain alpha keto-acid dehydrogenase GB: AAC69851 GI: 3822223 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 260058_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g78100 −1.94 1.22 0.026338 0.07061 gi_15450975_gb_AY054568.1_(—) 259854_at RING-H2 zinc finger protein ATL3, putative similar At1g72200 −1.94 1.07 0.006318 0.364739 to GI: 4928397 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] (Plant Mol. Biol. 40 (4), 579-590 (1999)) 258145_at integral membrane protein, putative similar to At3g18200 −1.94 1.08 0.032913 0.537375 MtN21 (nodulation-induced gene) GB: CAA75575 [Medicago truncatula] 253763_at xyloglucan endotransglycosylase-like protein At4g28850 −1.94 −1.07 0.010403 0.604484 xyloglucan endotransglycosylase 1, Fagus sylvatica, PID: e1354157 249008_at putative protein contains similarity to DNA-3- At5g44680 −1.94 1.04 0.019733 0.431852 methyladenine glycosylase I; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 29551. 261711_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g32700 −1.95 −1.07 0.022252 0.357576 GB: AAF25968 GI: 6714272 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 206224. 260887_at ascorbate oxidase promoter-binding protein, putative At1g29160 −1.95 −1.05 0.008773 0.547417 similar to ascorbate oxidase promoter-binding protein GB: D45066 GI: 853689 from [Cucurbita maxima] 254718_at putative protein disease resistance response protein At4g13580 −1.95 1.13 0.008166 0.148335 206-d, Pisum sativum, U11716 253103_at putative auxin-induced protein high similarity to At4g36110 −1.95 1.24 0.007143 0.125412 auxin-induced protein 15A, soybean, PIR2: JQ1096; supported by cDNA: gi_13194817_gb_AF349524.1_AF349524 245987_at NAM-like protein hypothetical protein SENU5, At5g13180 −1.95 −1 0.030979 0.994604 senescence up-regulated-Lycopersicon esculentum, EMBL: Z75524; supported by cDNA: gi_14326559_gb_AF385734.1_AF385734 264130_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g79160 −1.96 −1.01 0.007603 0.925019 257076_at unknown protein At3g19680 −1.96 −1.32 0.00642 0.015347 248564_at putative protein contains similarity to AT-hook At5g49700 −1.96 1.11 0.017313 0.355178 DNA-binding protein 246228_at peroxidase like protein At4g36430 −1.96 1.3 0.014156 0.048404 245090_at putative integral membrane protein nodulin At2g40900 −1.96 1.07 0.023157 0.443533 265031_at serine/threonine protein kinase, putative similar to At1g61590 −1.97 1.11 0.0313 0.357745 serine/threonine protein kinase GI: 1066501 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 263981_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g42870 −1.97 −1.13 0.013425 0.350209 Ceres: 102453. 252570_at isovaleryl-CoA-dehydrogenase precursor (IVD); At3g45300 −1.97 −1.07 0.015973 0.428779 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 33674. 248432_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g51390 −1.97 −1.14 0.006297 0.177565 (gb|AAB68039.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 1076. 267628_at unknown protein similar to GP|2262147|AC002330 At2g42280 −1.98 1.01 0.023113 0.929253 266941_at peroxidase (ATP22a) identical to GB: Y08781 At2g18980 −1.98 −1.16 0.014024 0.253565 266838_at similar to jasmonate-inducible proteins from At2g25980 −1.98 1.03 0.013791 0.844383 Brassica napus 263318_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g24762 −1.98 1.02 0.019425 0.816736 Ceres: 19631. 260081_at unknown protein At1g78170 −1.98 1.1 0.010912 0.443013 257654_at DnaJ protein, putative contains Pfam profile: At3g13310 −1.98 1.19 0.018497 0.11787 PF00226 DnaJ domain; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 31309. 257294_at non-phototropic hypocotyl protein, putative similar At3g15570 −1.98 −1.4 0.017594 0.029437 to GB: AAF05914 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 118259. 254606_at nodulin-26-like protein major intrinsic protein, At4g19030 −1.98 1.03 0.008673 0.680712 Oryza sativa, PIR2: S52003; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 109513. 264014_at putative auxin-regulated protein At2g21210 −1.99 −1.17 0.002926 0.036113 260770_at RING-H2 finger protein RHA3a, putative similar to At1g49200 −1.99 1.24 0.024855 0.128926 RING-H2 finger protein RHA3a GI: 3790573 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_14517431_gb_AY039551.1_(—) 260693_at peptide transporter PTR2-B, putative similar to At1g32450 −1.99 −1 0.029791 0.955651 SP: P46032 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 257448_s_at putative protein various predicted proteins At3g45800 −1.99 −1.12 0.018199 0.206911 Arabidopsis thaliana 259328_at putative lectin contains Pfam profile: PF01419 At3g16440 −2 1.24 0.010314 0.191237 jacalin-like lectin domain; similar to jasmonate inducible protein GB: Y11483 (Brassica napus), myrosinase binding protein GB: BAA84545 (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by cDNA: gi_6694742_gb_AF214573.1_AF2145 263151_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g54120 −2.01 −1.32 0.026676 0.072957 genemark.hmm; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 94743. 262427_s_at thioglucosidase, putative similar to thioglucosidase At1g47600 −2.01 1.2 0.008411 0.161898 GI: 871992 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 261822_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At1g11380 −2.01 −1.42 0.035581 0.129626 Ceres: 113571. 265245_at unknown protein At2g43060 −2.03 −1.03 0.010559 0.598558 258511_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g06590 −2.03 −1.06 0.005721 0.306173 Ceres: 9391. 251072_at putative protein wound-inducible protein wun1 At5g01740 −2.03 −1.26 0.023991 0.03577 protein-Solanum tuberosum, PIR: JQ0398; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 248967. 267178_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g37750 −2.04 1.3 0.011938 0.023415 Ceres: 28529. 262236_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g48330 −2.04 −1.17 0.028943 0.116441 GI: 9294146 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 250717_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g06200 −2.04 1.1 0.014766 0.475991 (gb|AAF00668.1) 263265_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan and At2g38820 −2.05 −1.04 0.028413 0.735506 genefinder; supported by cDNA: gi_16649128_gb_AY059934.1_(—) 263150_at heat-shock protein, putative similar to heat-shock At1g54050 −2.05 1.3 0.019374 0.275131 protein GI: 472939 from [Helianthus annuus]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 97415. 254820_s_at pEARLI 1-like protein Arabidopsis thaliana At4g12510 −2.05 1.07 0.00646 0.52646 pEARLI 1 mRNA, completecds, PID: g871780 251174_at putative protein latex protein allergen Hev b 7- At3g63200 −2.05 −1.09 0.011679 0.253402 Hevea brasiliensis, EMBL: AF113546; supported by cDNA: gi_15912226_gb_AY056391.1_(—) 250469_at pollen allergen-like protein SAH7 protein, At5g10130 −2.05 −1.05 0.021086 0.612309 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: ATH133639 249606_at putative protein DNA-binding protein CCA1, At5g37260 −2.05 1.11 0.011138 0.453754 Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR: T02684 252368_at cytochrome P450-like protein cytochrome P450 At3g48520 −2.06 1.18 0.017948 0.40172 CYP94A1-Vicia sativa, PIR2: T08014 245277_at glucosyltransferase like protein; supported by At4g15550 −2.07 −1.21 0.004725 0.325423 cDNA: gi_2149126_gb_U81293.1_ATU81293 260266_at putative B-box zinc finger protein contains Pfam At1g68520 −2.08 −1.06 0.023551 0.259093 profile: PF00643 B-box zinc finger; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 108109. 260741_at hypothetical protein contains Pfam profile: PF00117 At1g15045 −2.09 1.12 0.016477 0.263068 Glutamine amidotransferase class-I 257858_at hypothetical protein predicted by At3g12920 −2.1 1 0.019142 0.98788 genefinder; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 924. 266372_at putative two-component response regulator 3 At2g41310 −2.11 −1.24 0.013281 0.195422 protein identical to GB: AB010917, contains a response regulator receiver domain; supported by cDNA: gi_3273199_dbj_AB010917.1_AB010917 266072_at putative trehalose-6-phosphate synthase At2g18700 −2.11 −1.08 0.005616 0.502618 255858_at zinc finger protein (ZFP6) identical to zinc finger At1g67030 −2.11 1.3 0.017196 0.066902 protein GI: 790683 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_15215716_gb_AY050387.1_(—) 247954_at beta-galactosidase (emb|CAB64740.1); supported At5g56870 −2.12 −1.36 0.01322 0.072012 by cDNA: gi_15451017_gb_AY054589.1_(—) 252036_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g52070 −2.13 −1.21 0.011681 0.137087 Ceres: 118329. 258497_at putative flowering-time gene CONSTANS (COL2) At3g02380 −2.14 −1.47 0.018979 0.03124 identical to putative flowering-time gene CONSTANS (COL2) GB: AAB67879 GI: 1507699 (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 949. 253829_at Medicago nodulin N21-like protein MtN21 gene, At4g28040 −2.14 −1.2 0.006927 0.185535 Medicago truncatula, Y15293; supported by cDNA: gi_13899060_gb_AF370525.1_AF370525 248801_at homeobox-leucine zipper protein-like; supported by At5g47370 −2.14 1.06 0.008347 0.456353 cDNA: gi_15450446_gb_AY052324.1_(—) 247921_at CONSTANS-like B-box zinc finger protein-like; At5g57660 −2.14 −1.13 0.003117 0.120344 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 6639. 257615_at unknown protein At3g26510 −2.16 −1.13 0.004838 0.273425 266140_at nodulin-like protein; supported by cDNA: At2g28120 −2.17 −1.3 0.008244 0.055633 gi_16209713_gb_AY057618.1_(—) 257643_at AP2 domain transcription factor contains Pfam At3g25730 −2.17 −1.32 0.038334 0.152701 profile: PF00847 AP2 domain; similar to RAV1 (DNA-binding protein) GB: BAA34250 [Arabidopsis thaliana] (Nucleic Acids Res. 27 (2), 470-478 (1999)); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 39877. 248528_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g50760 −2.18 1.01 0.008566 0.918675 (emb|CAB86483.1) 264788_at putative DnaJ protein; supported by full-length At2g17880 −2.19 −1.25 0.011101 0.265694 cDNA: Ceres: 22711. 253957_at putative protein; supported by cDNA: At4g26320 −2.19 −1.16 0.006508 0.414219 gi_10880502_gb_AF195894.1_AF195894 247199_at DNA binding protein TGA1a homolog; supported At5g65210 −2.19 1.09 0.010073 0.256741 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 31032. 247170_at putative protein contains similarity to lectin-like At5g65530 −2.19 1.2 0.020752 0.326964 protein kinase 250099_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At5g17300 −2.2 1.13 0.018091 0.37707 gi_14190364_gb_AF378860.1_AF378860 247474_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At5g62280 −2.21 −1.01 0.016382 0.887761 thaliana 261768_at gibberellin 3 beta-hydroxylase, putative similar to At1g15550 −2.22 1.01 0.037882 0.920313 gibberellin 3 beta-hydroxylase GI: 3982753 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by cDNA: gi_1945343_gb_L37126.1_ATHGA4A 259264_at putative aldose 1-epimerase shows similarity to At3g01260 −2.22 1.22 0.023126 0.227322 aldose epimerases 253812_at putative wound induced protein wound-induced At4g28240 −2.25 −1.09 0.00548 0.137021 protein-tomato (fragment), PIR2: S19773; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 20161. 246917_at serine-rich protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g25280 −2.25 1.24 0.008947 0.039883 Ceres: 99323. 261265_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g26800 −2.26 1.2 0.022793 0.218643 genscan+; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 250127. 246229_at pectinesterase like protein At4g37160 −2.26 1.07 0.01383 0.725863 250012_x_at auxin-induced protein-like At5g18060 −2.27 1.11 0.022574 0.446969 259751_at putative transcription factor similar to myb-related At1g71030 −2.29 −1.31 0.004307 0.051811 transcription factor 24 GB: S71287; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 31592. 246932_at ethylene-responsive element-like protein ethylene- At5g25190 −2.31 −1.28 0.015246 0.042175 responsive element binding protein homolog, Stylosanthes hamata, EMBL: U91857; supported by cDNA: gi_15010715_gb_AY045659.1_(—) 264463_at unknown protein similar to ESTs gb|T20511, At1g10150 −2.32 −1.04 0.007428 0.701582 gb|T45308, gb|H36493, and gb|AA651176; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 2558. 252178_at putative protein various predicted proteins At3g50750 −2.33 1.17 0.016542 0.191688 247149_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g65660 −2.33 −1.03 0.011232 0.82378 Ceres: 25419. 260855_at phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase, putative At1g21920 −2.34 1.02 0.010684 0.812177 similar to phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase GB: CAB53377 GI: 5777366 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 37462. 256743_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At3g29370 −2.34 1.09 0.007379 0.34665 Ceres: 22461. 249065_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (gb At5g44260 −2.34 −1.05 0.002162 0.688129 AAD10689.1); supported by cDNA: gi_14334449_gb_AY034916.1_(—) 264524_at tat-binding protein, putative Highly Similar to At1g10070 −2.35 −1.06 0.006931 0.464612 branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase; Location of EST gb|T44177 and gb|AA395381; supported by cDNA: gi_15293208_gb_AY051038.1_(—) 264521_at unknown protein Location of EST gb|T41885 and At1g10020 −2.37 −1.37 0.002442 0.03961 gb|AA395021 258091_at hypothetical protein predicted by genmark; supported At3g14560 −2.37 1.27 0.014798 0.126209 by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19279. 261480_at phytochrome kinase substrate 1, putative similar to At1g14280 −2.39 1.06 0.004881 0.498893 phytochrome kinase substrate 1 GI: 5020168 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 97569. 252040_at putative protein hypothetical protein F10M6.70- At3g52060 −2.39 −1.02 0.011127 0.860596 Arabidopsis thaliana, PIR3: T05399; supported by cDNA: gi_15293266_gb_AY051067.1_(—) 246001_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At5g20790 −2.39 −1.63 0.007949 0.0182 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 267031. 258809_at NAM-like protein (no apical meristem) similar to At3g04070 −2.4 −1.24 0.010367 0.050869 NAM GB: CAA63101 [Petunia x hybrida] 258362_at unknown protein At3g14280 −2.41 −1.2 0.007995 0.150833 249467_at NAM/CUC2-like protein CUC2, Arabidopsis At5g39610 −2.41 −1.48 0.007479 0.036136 thaliana, EMBL: ATAB2560; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 113779. 251665_at responce reactor 4; supported by cDNA: At3g57040 −2.42 −1.1 0.008685 0.45678 gi_3273201_dbj_AB010918.1_AB010918 263382_at putative anthranilate N- At2g40230 −2.45 −1.06 0.018135 0.712794 hydroxycinnamoyl/benzoyltransferase; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 105546. 246071_at ids4-like protein ids-4 protein-Hordeum vulgare, At5g20150 −2.47 −1.14 0.002464 0.214703 PIR: T05905; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 32843. 247585_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At5g60680 −2.5 −1.09 0.002909 0.183267 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 16638. 264210_at putative myb-related transcription factor Similar to At1g22640 −2.51 1.26 0.00562 0.068761 myb-related transcription factor (THM27) gb|X95296 from Solanum lycopersicum. ESTs gb|T42000, gb|T04118, gb|AA598042, gb|AA394757 and gb|AA598046 come from this gene; supported by cDNA: gi_3941409_gb_AF 252965_at putative auxin-induced protein auxin-induced At4g38860 −2.53 −1.12 0.006173 0.26078 protein 10A, Glycine max., PIR2: JQ1099 253814_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g28290 −2.55 −1.46 0.006294 0.044367 Ceres: 10077. 246523_at CONSTANS-like 1 At5g15850 −2.55 1.01 0.013312 0.900077 263325_at putative RING zinc finger protein; supported by At2g04240 −2.56 1.18 0.004531 0.13068 cDNA: gi_13265496_gb_AF324691.2_AF324691 265342_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan; supported At2g18300 −2.58 1.1 0.014912 0.315678 by cDNA: gi_15724317_gb_AF412099.1_AF412099 253872_at putative protein Arabidopsis thaliana nap At4g27410 −2.58 1.21 0.004591 0.057522 gene, PID: e1234813; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 38344. 264783_at putative calcium-dependent protein kinase (U90439) At1g08650 −2.6 −1.61 0.010263 0.046318 similar to ESTs gb|T46119, gb|H76837, and gb|H36948; supported by cDNA: gi_6318612_gb_AF162660.1_AF162660 266363_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan and At2g41250 −2.64 −1.63 0.002674 0.015646 genefinder 260070_at putative helix-loop-helix DNA-binding protein At1g73830 −2.64 −1.19 0.010198 0.127406 contains Pfam profile: PF00010 Helix-loop-helix DNA-binding domain 250844_at putative protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g04470 −2.64 1.22 0.009233 0.425631 Ceres: 13812. 256589_at cytochrome P450, putative contains Pfam profile: At3g28740 −2.66 −1.69 0.010428 0.037959 PF00067 cytochrome P450; supported by cDNA: gi_15292830_gb_AY050849.1_(—) 265067_at hypothetical protein predicted by At1g03850 −2.7 1.37 0.004124 0.138732 genefinder; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 271253. 256914_at hypothetical protein At3g23880 −2.72 1.01 0.02091 0.915885 251169_at putative protein putative protein At2g25690- At3g63210 −2.73 1.13 0.005839 0.38507 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AC006053; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 40080. 255934_at cytochrome P450, putative similar to cytochrome At1g12740 −2.74 −1.11 0.010048 0.828407 P450 GI: 4176420 from [Arabidopsis thaliana] 266150_s_at hypothetical protein At2g12290 −2.77 1.08 0.009686 0.668542 259502_at unknown protein; supported by cDNA: At1g15670 −2.77 −1.23 0.002226 0.019701 gi_15146331_gb_AY049307.1_(—) 263283_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan and At2g36090 −2.79 1.26 0.004 0.034558 genefinder 253125_at DnaJ-like protein DnaJ-like protein, Phaseolus At4g36040 −2.83 1.3 0.002096 0.029069 vulgaris, PATX: G1684851 248208_at unknown protein At5g53980 −2.83 −1.12 0.002744 0.19142 264021_at putative auxin-regulated protein; supported by full- At2g21200 −2.85 1.14 0.01116 0.255677 length cDNA: Ceres: 7141. 249755_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At5g24580 −2.87 −1.02 0.01127 0.906115 Ceres: 6393. 255284_at 5-adenylylsulfate reductase; supported by full- At4g04610 −2.9 −1.53 0.007861 0.08308 length cDNA: Ceres: 40330. 253207_at putative protein small auxin up-regulated RNA, At4g34770 −2.9 −1.24 0.004842 0.041275 Malus domestica, gb: Z93766 252118_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At3g51400 −2.9 −1.18 0.019242 0.328518 Arabidopsis thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 14797. 247540_at ethylene responsive element binding factor-like At5g61590 −2.99 1.03 0.003616 0.728822 ethylene responsive element binding factor 5, Arabidopsis thaliana, SWISSPROT: ERF5_ARATH; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 19893. 264379_at hypothetical protein predicted by grail At2g25200 −3 −1.3 0.023213 0.145635 263688_at unknown protein Location of EST 228A16T7A, At1g26920 −3.05 −1.22 0.00728 0.304232 gb|N65686; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 24946. 246522_at bZIP DNA-binding protein-like putative bZIP At5g15830 −3.09 −1.46 0.010759 0.157233 DNA-binding protein-Capsicum chinense, EMBL: AF127797 258059_at NAM-like protein (No Apical Meristem) similar to At3g29035 −3.25 1.32 0.004473 0.140279 GB: CAA63101 from [Petunia x hybrida] (Cell 85 (2), 159-170 (1996)) 259982_at putative RING zinc finger protein contains Pfam At1g76410 −3.31 −1.01 0.011262 0.945494 profile: PF00097 Zinc finger, C3HC4 type (RING finger); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 27464. 262986_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical protein At1g23390 −3.44 −1.22 0.008132 0.177105 GB: AAF27090 GI: 6730669 from (Arabidopsis thaliana); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 101865. 260287_at unknown protein contains two Kelch motifs; At1g80440 −3.57 −1.18 0.008035 0.221837 supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 32885. 247754_at putative protein At5g59080 −3.77 −1.55 0.004279 0.021198 267238_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g44130 −3.86 1.18 0.003036 0.152629 Ceres: 6950. 266156_at hypothetical protein predicted by genscan At2g28110 −3.99 1.1 0.004914 0.561885 266322_at putative auxin-regulated protein At2g46690 −4 −1.09 0.003394 0.327782 258367_at putative protein kinase similar to protein kinase At3g14370 −4.02 −1.07 0.005242 0.532182 homolog GB: AAC78477 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 96699. 253155_at putative protein predicted protein, Arabidopsis At4g35720 −4.2 −1.28 0.00697 0.318015 thaliana 265573_at putative zinc-finger protein similar to zinc-finger At2g28200 −4.25 −1.33 0.00752 0.040354 protein GB: AAC98446 247696_at MYB27 protein-like MYB27 protein, Arabidopsis At5g59780 −4.32 1.37 0.003111 0.017905 thaliana, PIR: T46166; supported by cDNA: gi_3941479_gb_AF062894.1_AF062894 250937_at putative protein various predicted proteins, At5g03230 −4.33 1.47 0.010367 0.036447 Arabidopsis thaliana; supported by cDNA: gi_13878024_gb_AF370275.1_AF370275 251443_at putative protein unknown protein At2g44130- At3g59940 −4.72 1.12 0.001814 0.186012 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AC004005; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 8014. 261177_at hypothetical protein predicted by genemark.hmm At1g04770 −5.29 −1.41 0.001922 0.031579 249454_at expressed protein predicted protein, Synechocystis At5g39520 −5.74 −1.29 0.003609 0.135283 sp., PIR: S77152; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 5331. 265387_at unknown protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At2g20670 −6.17 −1.57 0.002564 0.056602 Ceres: 34827. 254265_s_at serine threonine kinase-like protein KI domain At4g23140 2.94 1.76 0.151164 0.015078 interacting kinase 1 (KIK1), Zea mays; supported by cDNA: gi_13506746_gb_AF224706.1_AF224706 263539_at putative tyrosine aminotransferase; supported by At2g24850 2.01 2.2 0.066727 0.012756 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 14570. 265837_at unknown protein At2g14560 1.91 2.1 0.278938 0.013727 263402_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At2g04050 1.65 1.87 0.126971 0.028665 GB: AAC27412 256766_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At3g22231 1.62 1.87 0.168568 0.005967 gi_14335055_gb_AY037207.1_(—) 263061_at putative AAA-type ATPase At2g18190 1.48 1.94 0.324983 0.049719 267024_s_at putative aquaporin (plasma membrane intrinsic At2g34390 1.46 1.99 0.056378 0.04848 protein) 245035_at unknown protein similar to At2g26400 1.39 1.78 0.302025 0.044811 GP|2244827|gnl|PID|e326818|Z97336 252746_at sucrose synthase-like protein SUCROSE At3g43190 1.35 2.67 0.11372 0.012763 SYNTHASE (SUCROSE-UDP GLUCOSYLTRANSFERASE), Arabidopsis thalina, SWISSPROT: SUS1_ARATH; supported by cDNA: gi_14334569_gb_AY034958.1_(—) 263401_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At2g04070 1.22 2.22 0.734988 0.005027 GB: AAC27412 245306_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g14690 1.2 2.16 0.22188 0.009285 Ceres: 95834. 258277_at putative cytochrome P450 similar to cytochrome At3g26830 1.04 2.61 0.754479 0.013858 P450 71B2 GB: O65788 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252882_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g39675 −1.17 1.94 0.106839 0.012488 Ceres: 14423. 261913_at flavin-containing monooxygenase FMO3, putative At1g65860 −1.63 −1.85 0.058793 0.008577 similar to flavin-containing monooxygenase FMO3 GI: 349533 from [Oryctolagus cuniculus] 249727_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g35490 −1.2 −2.09 0.190584 0.008082 (gb|AAB61527.1) 254474_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At4g20390 −1.06 −1.71 0.572517 0.017439 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 248721. 260856_at TINY-like protein similar to TINY GB: CAA64359 At1g21910 1.17 −2.2 0.268116 0.009082 GI: 1246403 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19721. 249215_at dihydroflavonol 4-reductase At5g42800 1.61 −1.77 0.401965 0.048093 254283_s_at anthocyanidin synthase-like protein putative At4g22870 2.09 −1.98 0.161214 0.018458 leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g1575699

TABLE 4 Genes that are Responsive to chitooctaose in the AtLysM RLK1 mutant WT Mu Probe set Annotation Accession FC FC WT P Mu P 253046_at cytochrome P450-like protein cytochrome P450, At4g37370 3.83 2.17 0.019261 0.016853 Glycyrrhiza echinata, AB001379; supported by full- length cDNA: Ceres: 253698. 254869_at protein kinase-like protein KI domain interacting At4g11890 3.37 2.12 0.007665 0.003284 kinase 1-Zea mays, PIR2: T02053 246099_at blue copper binding protein; supported by full- At5g20230 2.67 1.7 0.008061 0.011289 length cDNA: Ceres: 7767. 253317_at putative protein At4g33960 −1.83 −1.77 0.010341 0.022397 260126_at putative hydroxymethyltransferase similar to serine At1g36370 −1.93 −1.86 0.005701 0.006964 hydroxymethyltransferage GB: P50433 from [Solanum tuberosum]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 122515. 246926_at putative protein At5g25240 −2.09 −2.21 0.019603 0.017979 258217_at unknown protein contains Pfam profile PF00398 At3g17990 −2.21 −2.27 0.009887 0.0037 Ribosomal RNA adenine dimethylases 258218_at methyltransferase, putative similar to At3g18000 −2.21 −2.29 0.00667 0.009294 methyltransferase GB: AAC01738 from [Amycolatopsis mediterranei] 254343_at PRH26 protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g21990 −2.22 −1.83 0.012838 0.031291 Ceres: 36866. 265121_at similar to flavin-containing monooxygenase At1g62560 −2.37 −1.87 0.020126 0.00922 (sp|P36366); similar to ESTs gb|R30018, gb|H36886, gb|N37822, and gb|T88100 similar to flavin- containing monooxygenase GB: AAA21178 GI: 349534 from [Oryctolagus cuniculus]; supported by cDNA: gi_13877746_gb_AF37013 251039_at putative protein hypothetical protein T6H20.90- At5g02020 −3.73 −1.91 0.001899 0.021967 Arabidopsis thaliana, EMBL: AL096859; supported by cDNA: gi_16648747_gb_AY058150.1_(—) 259015_at unknown protein similar to hypothetical protein At3g07350 −3.79 −1.81 0.001762 0.010373 GB: AAC17612 [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 251012. 248676_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g48850 −5.55 −4.23 0.003428 0.003335 (gb|AAC72543.1) 249752_at putative protein similar to unknown protein (emb At5g24660 −5.87 −2.27 0.002654 0.005949 CAB62461.1); supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 268701. 254265_s_at serine threonine kinase-like protein KI domain At4g23140 2.94 1.76 0.151164 0.015078 interacting kinase 1 (KIK1), Zea mays; supported by cDNA: gi_13506746_gb_AF224706.1_AF224706 263539_at putative tyrosine aminotransferase; supported by At2g24850 2.01 2.2 0.066727 0.012756 full-length cDNA: Ceres: 14570. 265837_at unknown protein At2g14560 1.91 2.1 0.278938 0.013727 263402_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At2g04050 1.65 1.87 0.126971 0.028665 GB: AAC27412 256766_at Expressed protein; supported by cDNA: At3g22231 1.62 1.87 0.168568 0.005967 gi_14335055_gb_AY037207.1_(—) 263061_at putative AAA-type ATPase At2g18190 1.48 1.94 0.324983 0.049719 267024_s_at putative aquaporin (plasma membrane intrinsic At2g34390 1.46 1.99 0.056378 0.04848 protein) 245035_at unknown protein similar to At2g26400 1.39 1.78 0.302025 0.044811 GP|2244827|gnl|PID|e326818|Z97336 252746_at sucrose synthase-like protein SUCROSE At3g43190 1.35 2.67 0.11372 0.012763 SYNTHASE (SUCROSE-UDP GLUCOSYLTRANSFERASE), Arabidopsis thalina, SWISSPROT: SUS1_ARATH; supported by cDNA: gi_14334569_gb_AY034958.1_(—) 263401_at hypothetical protein similar to hypothetical protein At2g04070 1.22 2.22 0.734988 0.005027 GB: AAC27412 245306_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g14690 1.2 2.16 0.22188 0.009285 Ceres: 95834. 261913_at flavin-containing monooxygenase FMO3, putative At1g65860 −1.63 −1.85 0.058793 0.008577 similar to flavin-containing monooxygenase FMO3 GI: 349533 from [Oryctolagus cuniculus] 249727_at putative protein similar to unknown protein At5g35490 −1.2 −2.09 0.190584 0.008082 (gb|AAB61527.1) 258277_at putative cytochrome P450 similar to cytochrome At3g26830 1.04 2.61 0.754479 0.013858 P450 71B2 GB: O65788 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 252882_at Expressed protein; supported by full-length cDNA: At4g39675 −1.17 1.94 0.106839 0.012488 Ceres: 14423. 254474_at putative protein predicted proteins, Arabidopsis At4g20390 −1.06 −1.71 0.572517 0.017439 thaliana; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 248721. 260856_at TINY-like protein similar to TINY GB: CAA64359 At1g21910 1.17 −2.2 0.268116 0.009082 GI: 1246403 from [Arabidopsis thaliana]; supported by full-length cDNA: Ceres: 19721. 249215_at dihydroflavonol 4-reductase At5g42800 1.61 −1.77 0.401965 0.048093 254283_s_at anthocyanidin synthase-like protein putative At4g22870 2.09 −1.98 0.161214 0.018458 leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, Arabidopsis thaliana, PID: g1575699

The similar regulation patterns for this small number of genes in both the mutant and wild-type plants may be due to some redundant function provided by one of the other four LysM RLKs in the mutant. Eventually, only 6 genes appeared to behave differentially in both the mutant and wild-type (last 6 rows in Table 4). The cause of such a discrepancy is not clear. Since these few genes were only weakly to moderately regulated (−1.7 to 2.6 fold), experimental variation is a possible cause.

To determine the functional classification of the 909 genes described above, information of these genes were input into the TAIR web-based GO annotation software. The output shows that the CRGs disclosed here include many defense-related genes (such as genes encoding pathogenesis-related proteins and disease resistance proteins) and signal transduction-related genes (such as various kinases and transcription factors) (FIG. 12), suggesting a potential relationship between gene induction and plant defense mediated by chitooligosaccharides.

Since the mutation in the AtLysM RLK1 gene blocked the regulation of almost all CRGs (−98%) by the chitooligosaccharide, AtLysM RLK1 is very likely the chitin receptor (or part of the receptor complex) that is responsible for perceiving the chitooligosaccharide elicitor and initiating cellular signaling leading to downstream gene expression. This notion is also indirectly supported by its structural features and the findings that LysM RLKs NFR1 and NFR5 in the legume Lotus japonicus serve as the receptors for the lipo-chitin Nod signal. See Limpens et al., 2003; Madsen et al., 2003; Radutoiu et al., 2003.

Because many receptor kinases form heterodimers, it has been suggested that the legume NFR1 and NFR5 may function as a heterodimer complex. See e.g., Goring et al., 2004. It is likely that AtLysRLK1 may require a partner protein, either another LysM RLK or a protein similar to the rice CEBiP. Kaku et al., 2006. However, since mutations in the other four AtLysM RLK genes had no obvious effect on the expression of selected CRGs, it seems unlikely that the products of these four genes are essential for the receptor function. There are three CEBiP-like proteins in Arabidopsis, which are encoded by At1g21880, At1g77630 and At2 g17120, respectively.

If chitooligosaccharide recognition is an integral part of the response pathway by which plants defend against fungal pathogens, mutations in the AtLysM RLK1 gene should affect plant resistance to fungal pathogens. To test this hypothesis, three week-old mutant and wild-type plants were inoculated with the biotrophic powdery mildew fungal pathogen Erysiphe cichoracearum. Ten days later, the mutant plants appeared to support more fungal growth than the wild-type plants.

The susceptibility appeared to be less than that observed in NahG plants, which express salicylate hydrolase, preventing the accumulation of salicylic acid, and are therefore very susceptible to the fungal pathogen (FIG. 13A). Trypan blue staining of the infected leaves also showed the AtLysM RLK1 mutant supported more hyphal growth and production of conidiophores earlier than the wild-type plants (FIG. 13B). Arrows indicate sites where conidiophores are forming. All photographs were taken six days after inoculation. Bar=0.1 mm. 4-week-old plants were also inoculated with the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola. Three days after inoculation, the mutant developed slightly bigger lesions than the wild-type plants, as measured by average diameter of the lesions (FIGS. 13C and 13D). In agreement with this, the mutant plants also produced more spores per lesion than the wild-type plants (FIG. 13E).

To test the specificity of AtLysM RLK1 in fungal disease resistance, the response of the mutant to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato DC3000 was also examined. After infiltration with the pathogen, both the mutant and wild-type plants supported a similar bacterial growth three days after inoculation (FIG. 13F), indicating that defense against bacterial infection was not affected by the mutation. WT=wild-type Col-0; Mu=the AtLysM RLK1 mutant. CSC=crab shell chitin, 8mer=chitooctaose, and water=distilled water. Empty columns=WT Col-0 and solid black columns=the AtLysM RLK1 mutant. Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between the mutant and wild-type plants (P<0.05). Error bars=standard error. Each experiment was repeated at least twice with similar results.

The mutation in the AtLysM RLK1 gene led to only moderate susceptibility to fungal pathogens, suggesting that AtLysM RLK1 plays a role in mediating basal or general resistance to fungal pathogens through the recognition of the chitooligosaccharide PAMP derived from fungal cell walls. This result is not surprising because it is well documented that fungal pathogens produce multiple elicitors that induce plant innate immunity. See e.g., Chisholm et al., 2006. Thus, blocking the chitin response pathway would not be expected to completely block all defense responses mounted by the plant against the fungal pathogen.

This notion is supported by the observation that chitin-responsive defense genes (e.g., MPK3 and WRKY53) were still induced by the fungal pathogen A. brassicicola in the mutant, albeit to a lower level compared with that in wild-type plants (FIG. 14). The gene induction by the fungal pathogen is monitored by quantitative RT-PCR at different time points after inoculation. Each data point is the average of the relative gene expression (fold change, normalized to actin-2 and relative to the time 0 sample) from three replicates. Error bar=standard error. WT=wild-type Col-0; Mu=the AtLysM RLK1 mutant. This low level expression of some defense genes in the mutant may explain why the mutant was only moderately susceptible to the fungal pathogens as compared to the wild-type plants.

Pretreatment of rice plants by chitooligosaccharide has been shown to enhance fungal resistance in rice. Tanabe et al., 2006. It is shown here that pretreatment of wild-type plants with chitooligosaccharides reduced disease symptoms upon inoculation with the fungal pathogen A. brassicicola, as evidenced by reduced lesion size and spore production (FIGS. 13C, 13D and 13E). Pretreatment also inhibited the growth of the bacterial pathogen P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (FIG. 13F), reflecting a general induction of plant innate immunity. In contrast, similar pretreatment of the AtLysM RLK1 mutant plants did not enhance resistance. These data further support the critical role for AtLysM RLK1 in mediating the perception of chitooligosaccharides by plants.

Chitin is present in the cell walls of all true fungi, but not in plants. Fungal pathogens with defects in chitin synthesis are significantly less virulent on susceptible hosts, including both plants and animals. See Bulawa et al., 1995; and Soulie et al., 2006. As disclosed herein, AtLysM RLK1 is likely a receptor for chitin PAMP of fungal pathogen. AtLysM RLK1 is only the third pattern recognition receptor (PRR) identified in plants. The other two PRRs are both leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR RLKs). Nürnberger et al., 2006. Therefore, this finding adds a new class of proteins to the family of plant PRRs.

LysM RLK NFR1 and NFR5 Nod signal receptors specifically recognize a lipochitin molecule with a back-bone of 4-5 units of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. For review, see Stacey et al. 2006. This specificity is supported by the findings that mutations in either of the NFR1 and NFR5 genes in L. japonicus did not block the induction of the selected CRGs in this plant (FIG. 15). In more details, both the wild type (Gifu) and the Nod signal receptor mutants nfr1-1 and nfr5-1 were treated with chitooctaose for 30 minutes at a concentration of 1 μM or with water (as a control). The selected CRGS were detected using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. LjActin-2 was used as an internal control.

However, previous results suggested that both the legume NFR genes and AtLysM RLK1 are under negative selection, implying the functional conservation between legume NFR and AtLysM RLK1 genes. Zhang et al., 2007. Perhaps, the discrepancy in substrate specificity lies in the difference in their extracellular LysM domains, since legume NFR proteins have two LysM motifs while AtLysM RLK1 has three. Zhang et al., 2007.

To determine whether the AtLysM RLK1 mutation affects other defense-related pathways, such as the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid/ethylene (JA/ETH) responsive pathways, the AtLysM RLK1 mutant and wild-type plants were treated with SA, methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA), and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), respectively, and expression of the pathway hallmark genes, PR-1 (the SA pathway) and PDF1.2 (the JA/ETH pathway) was examined.

Quantitative RT-PCR data demonstrated that both the mutant and wild-type plants showed similar induction of PR-1 by SA and of PDF1.2 by MeJA or ACC, indicating that the mutation did not affect these defense pathways (FIG. 16). In addition, the mutant plants were fully responsive to another typical PAMP, the flagellin-derived peptide flg22 (FIG. 16). Each data point is the average of the relative gene expression (fold change, normalized to actin-2 and relative to the control sample) from three replicates. Error bar=standard error. No statistically significant differences are found between the mutant and wild type in the induction of the above genes.

Interestingly, as shown by FIG. 17, the AtLysM RLK1 mutation does not block the induction of flagellin-responsive genes. Collectively, the data indicate that AtLysM RLK1 is the primary, specific receptor for recognition of the chitooligosaccharide PAMP derived from fungal pathogen cell walls. This recognition is a crucial step in the elicitation of protective innate immunity responses in the plant.

Example 4 Forced Expression of Certain LysM RLK Genes Enhanced Fungal Resistance in Plants

Over-expression of one LysM RLK gene, At2g33580, under a strong cauliflower mosaic virus (CMV) 35s promoter in transgenic plants, resulted in enhanced disease resistance. Therefore, this gene may function in a positive way to elevate disease resistance, similar to the mechanism of the At3g21630 gene, as shown in FIG. 5. Together with the data in Example 3 showing that forced expression of AtLysM RLK1 gene can restore induction of CRGs in a AtLysM RLK1 insertion mutant, these data confirm that the expression of specific LysM RLK genes in transgenic plants may confer enhanced disease resistance.

Example 5 Induction of Gene Expression by Chitin or its Derivatives

Based on the genome-wide gene expression studies using microarrays, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to identify over 120 different transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana whose expression is enhanced by chitin treatment. Many of these transcription factors are known to be involved in fungal pathogen response. This again shows the correlation of chitin response to disease resistance. Each of these transcription factors is a potential target for genetic manipulation in order to enhance disease resistance. The results of this study are described in greater details in Libault et al., 2007, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.

Some of the genes disclosed herein, including the LysM RLK genes, the CRGs such as the transcription factors described above, may play a positive role in plant fungal defense. Such genes may be called positive regulators. Transgenic plants may be generated wherein these positive regulators are expressed at an elevated level to increase the expression of transcription factors or other downstream genes. Some of the genes, on the other hand, may inhibit a plant's fungal defense capability. Such genes may be called negative regulators (also called “negative regulatory genes”). Deletion mutants of such genes that play a negative role in fungal defense may be created to obtain plants with enhanced fungal defense capability. Alternatively, dominant negative mutants of the negative regulatory genes may be introduced into a wild-type plant to inhibit the function of negative factors. Host plants may include any plants that may be susceptible to fungal infection, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, soybean, and others.

Example 6 LysM Containing Proteins in Soybean

Utilizing the gene sequences from Arabidopsis, as described above, a total of 13 LysM RLK genes were identified in the soybean genome by searching the dbEST sequence database maintained by the Institute of Genomic Research. These 13 soybean LysM RLKs are: GmNFR1α (also referred to as GmNFR1a in this disclosure), GmNFR1β (also referred to as GmNFR1b in this disclosure), GmLYK2, GmLYK3, GmLYK4 (previously known as GmLysM17), GmNFR5α (also referred to as GmNFR5a in this disclosure), GmNFR50 (also referred to as GmNFR1b in this disclosure), GmLYK6 (previously known as GmLysM14), GmLYK7, GmLYK8 (previously known as GmLysM4), GmLYK9 (previously known as GmLysM16), GmLYK10, GmLYK11, and are designated as SEQ ID Nos. 54-66, respectively.

In addition, an additional fifteen soybean genes were identified that appear to have a LysM domain, but no associated kinase domain. PCR primers were developed for several of these genes, and their location on the soybean bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based physical map was determined by probing pools of individual BAC clones. In this way, BAC clones encoding the various LysM domain proteins were identified. At this time, twelve BACs have been sequenced and the genomic sequences, including the regulatory regions, have been obtained for several LysM RLK genes.

Sequence comparisons between the soybean BAC sequences and other plant species showed examples where gene order (microsynteny) was well conserved. For example, FIG. 18 shows microsynteny between the soybean GmNFR5 and LysM17 (GmLYK4) gene-encoding regions and corresponding regions in poplar (Pt), Lotus japonicus (Lj), and Medicago trancatula (Mt) Arabidopsis thaliana (At) and rice (Os). These regions of microsynteny may be expanded by use of these methods to other plant species. Thus, knowledge of the genomic location in soybean can allow for the identification of the likely functional orthologue in other plant species, or vice versa.

In some cases, mapping the gene to the physical map also gave a genetic map location, due to genetic markers associated with the BAC clones. Table 5 shows examples of such regions that are in proximity to LysM RLK encoding regions. The locations of these genes were correlated with known quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with fungal resistance, i.e., Sclerotina white mold, Asian soybean rust and sudden death syndrome. In each case, a close correlation existed between the location of the LysM RLK and a known QTL for disease resistance. Thus, mapping of the LysM RLK may aid in the localization of disease resistance QTLs in soybean. The sequence of the LysM RLK gene can also be used to define better genetic markers for fine mapping of the associated QTLs. For instance, soybean mutants may be generated and selected for fungal resistant phenotypes. The close genetic link between certain QTLs and some LysM RLK genes may allow one to use the LysM RLK gene sequences to trace segregation of the QTLs. For example, molecular markers in the form of PCR primers, oligonucleotide probes, single nucleotide polymorphisms, restriction fragment polymorphisms, among others, derived from the DNA sequence of the LYK genes could be very useful in following a specific QTL in a breeding process. TABLE 5 Associations of GmLysM-RLKs with known fungal resistance QTLs Genetic Genetic Linkage position Soybean LysM-RLKs marker Group (cM) Sclerotinia sclerotiorum QTL Satt172 D1b 100.89 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum QTL Satt459 D1b 118.62 K411_1 D1b 119.34 GmLysM4, GmLysM26, GmNFR1a A343_2 D1b 120.97 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum QTL Satt143 L 30.19 GmLysM23 Sat_388 L 30.86 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum QTL Satt481 L 54.57 GmLysM25 Sat_402 C2 103.33 Asian soybean rust QTL Satt460 C2 117.77 Fusarium solani f.sp glycines (SDS) Satt307 C2 121.27 QTL

More particularly, all or a fragment of the polynucleotides of the instant disclosure may be used as probes for genetically and physically mapping the genes of which they are a part, and can be further used as markers for traits linked to those genes. Such information may be useful in plant breeding in order to develop lines with desired phenotypes. For example, the instant nucleic acid fragments may be used as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. Southern blots of restriction-digested plant genomic DNA may be probed with the nucleic acid fragments of the instant disclosure. The resulting banding patterns may then be subjected to genetic analyses using computer programs such as MapMaker (Lander et al. (1987) Genomics 1:174-181) in order to construct a genetic map. In addition, the nucleic acid fragments of the instant disclosure may be used to probe Southern blots containing restriction endonuclease-treated genomic DNAs of a set of individuals representing parent and progeny of a defined genetic cross. Segregation of the DNA polymorphisms is noted and used to calculate the position of the instant nucleic acid sequence in the genetic map previously obtained using this population (Botstein et al. (1980) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 32:314-331).

The production and use of plant gene-derived probes for use in genetic mapping is described in Bernatzky and Tanksley (1986) Plant Mol. Biol. Reporter 4:37-41. Numerous publications describe genetic mapping of specific cDNA clones using the methodology outlined above or variations thereof. For example, F2 intercross populations, backcross populations, randomly mated populations, near isogenic lines, and other sets of individuals may be used for mapping. Such methodologies are well known to those skilled in the art.

Nucleic acid probes derived from the instant nucleic acid sequences may also be used for physical mapping (i.e., placement of sequences on physical maps; see Hoheisel et al. In: Non mammalian Genomic Analysis: A Practical Guide, Academic press 1996, pp. 319-346, and references cited therein). In another embodiment, nucleic acid probes derived from the instant nucleic acid sequences may be used in direct fluorescence in sits hybridization (FISH) mapping (Trask (1991) Trends Genet. 7:149-154). Although current methods of FISH mapping favor use of large clones ranging from a few Kb to several hundred Kb; see Laan et al. (1995) Genome Res. 5:13-20), improvements in sensitivity may allow performance of FISH mapping using shorter probes.

A variety of nucleic acid amplification-based methods of genetic and physical mapping may be carried out using the nucleic acid sequences of the instant disclosure. Examples include allele-specific amplification (Kazazian (1989) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 11:95-96), polymorphism of PCR-amplified fragments (CAPS; Sheffield et al. (1993) Genomics 16:325-332), allele-specific ligation (Landegren et al. (1988) Science 241:1077-1080), nucleotide extension reactions (Sokolov (1990) Nucleic Acid Res. 18:3671), Radiation Hybrid Mapping (Walter et al. (1997) Nat. Genet. 7:22-28) and Happy Mapping (Dear and Cook (1989) Nucleic Acid Res. 17:6795-6807). For these methods, the sequence of a nucleic acid fragment is used to design and produce primer pairs for use in the amplification reaction or in primer extension reactions. The design of such primers is well known to those skilled in the art. In methods employing PCR-based genetic mapping, it may be necessary to identify DNA sequence differences between the parents of the mapping cross in the region corresponding to the instant nucleic acid sequence. This, however, is generally not necessary for mapping methods.

Soybean genotypes used for mapping of soybean QTLs for white mold resistance included Corsoy 79 and Dassel. As shown in FIG. 19, treatment of leaves of these plants, as well as Williams 82 as a control, resulted in strong induction of three of the LysM RLK genes out of a total of six such genes tested. These genes are, therefore, excellent targets for genetic manipulation using the methods demonstrated in Arabidopsis to create soybean plants with decreased disease susceptibility. Finally, as was the case with Arabidopsis, some of the soybean LysM RLK genes are induced upon treatment of soybean with chitin, as confirmed by the results shown in FIG. 20. Leaves were treated by spraying with chitin (100 μM)+0.2% Tween-20.

Example 7 Tissue Specific Expression of LysM-Containing Proteins in Soybean and Other Plants

Other experiments examined the expression of the various LysM domain-containing genes under various conditions. For the six plant species in this study, tissue expression levels of LYK genes have only been reported for M. truncatula (Limpens et al., 2003; Arrighi et al., 2006) and Arabidopsis. Therefore, LYK gene expression was measured using quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR in different tissues of soybean, M. truncatula, and rice plants.

More particularly, Soybean, M. truncatula, and rice plants were grown in the greenhouse at 28° C. to 30° C. with a 16-h light/8-h dark cycle. Roots and vegetative tissues were sampled about 3 weeks after planting and flowers were sampled about 3 months after planting. Total RNAs were extracted using Trizol (Invitrogen) followed by Turbo DNase (Ambion) treatment to remove genomic DNA contamination. First-strand cDNAs were synthesized using Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase (Promega). Quantitative RT-PCR was performed using a 7500 real-time PCR system (Applied Biosystems) following standard procedures. The primer sequences are listed in Table 6. q-RT-PCR of GmSubi2, MtActin2, OsEF1α are used to normalize the expression data of all of the other genes in the respective species. TABLE 6 Plant LYK primers for qRT-PCR (5′ to 3′ from left to right) SEQ SEQ ID ID Genes Forward No. Reverse No. GmSubi2 AGCTATTCGCAGTTCCCAAAT 96 CAGAGACGAACCTTGAGGAGA 97 GmNFR1a AAGAACATCCGTGGAAAGGTT 98 AATGTTCCCACAAGACGAGTG 99 GmNFR1b TGACATATGCCAATCTCACCA 100 GTGACATTAACCGTGGCATTT 101 GmLYK2 GATCCACAACAACGTCCAAAT 102 ATGGAAGCAATATCCCAATCC 103 GmLYK3 TAACGGTGACGTTGATGTTCA 104 GTTGTCGAGGTTGATTTCTCG 105 GmLYK4 AGATGTGCTTGTCCCACAAAG 106 CAGAATCACCCCAGTTTACCA 107 GmNFR5a ACCGCTCTTTTGCCAATATCT 108 AACGGGGTTTAAATCCATCAC 109 GmNFR5b CATGGCCAGAACTTTTACCAA 110 GTTGTCATGGCTTTCCTACCA 111 GmLYK9 TGATCTCCTACGTCGTCCAAC 112 GCGTCAATGATGGACTGTTCT 113 GmLYK10 CCTCTCTCTCCAACCTCACCT 114 CTGATCCTGGGAGAGGAACTC 115 GmLYK11 TTCGGTTCCTGGTGAGTCTTA 116 TCATGGGGTACATGAGCTTTC 117 MtActin2 TGGCATCACTCAGTACCTTTCAACAG 118 ACCCAAAGCATCAAATAATAAGTCAACC 119 MtLYK1 CATGAGCATTCAGTGCCTGT 120 TGCAGAATCAGTAAGCCTGGT 121 MtLYK3 TGCTAAGGGTTCAGCTGTTGGTA 122 AAATGCCCTAGAAGTTTGTGGAAG 123 MtLYK4 CGCAAGATGGATGTGTATGC 124 CATGGCTCTCGAACTCGTTT 125 MtLYK9 CACTCATATTCTTTTCTGCCACCCA 126 TGCAATGGATTGAGGACTGGTGT 127 MtLYK10 GGAAATGGAGAAATGGCAAA 128 CGCCTTGACCAAGAAACCTA 129 MtLYK11 GGCATTGATGGGTCAGAACT 130 TGCAAAGAGGATCACACTGC 131 MtLYK12 CTCTTCTTCTTCTTCTTCGTCAGCA 132 GGTATGCTTGGCATGTTTGAGTTT 133 MtLYK13 GGTTGTTCTCGGAATCTTCG 134 ATGCATGTATTGCAGACCGA 135 OsEF1α TTTCACTCTTGGTGTGAAGCAGAT 136 GACTTCCTTCACGATTTCATCGTAA 137 OsLYK1 ATGGCGATATGGGTGACATT 138 TCCACATGGAAGGTGAATGA 139 OsLYK2 GTTCTTGCGTCTGGTGCTCT 140 CTCCTTATCCGGAGCCAAC 141 OsLYK3 ATGGAGGAGGTGTTCGTCAC 142 CCGAGGACCATAGAAGCTGA 143 OsLYK4 CATGGTCACCTACCTCGTCA 144 TATGATGGAGCTCTCGGTGA 145 OsLYK5 GTTCATCGACAAACCGATCA 146 TAATACGAGCTGCCGAGCTT 147 OsLYK6 GTGACGAGGAGAATGGAGGA 148 CTCGATCAGCTTCACCATCA 149

The data agree well with previous results on MtLYK expression levels (Limpens et al., 2003; Arrighi et al., 2006). It was also found that plant LYK expression was generally tissue specific and that most plant LYK genes were expressed predominantly in the root in soybean (FIG. 21A), M. truncatula (FIG. 21B), rice (FIG. 21C), L. japonicus (Madsen et al., 2003; Radutoiu et al., 2003), and Arabidopsis, although a few genes were expressed in stems and leaves. Expression levels of each LYK gene were displayed in artificial scales relative to particular housekeeping genes. Data were collected from three biological replicates. Error bars represent SDs.

As predicted from their orthologous relationships (Zhang et al, 2007), GmNFR1, GmNFR1, MtLYK3, and LjNFR1 (Radutoiu et al., 2003) showed similar patterns of root-specific expression. Similarly, GmNFR5, GmNFR5, MtLYK13, OsLYK5, and LjNFR5 (Madsen et al., 2003) showed root-specific expression. These results are reasonable, from a biological perspective, because these receptors need to efficiently contact Nod factors secreted by soilborne symbiotic bacteria.

Additionally, the following sets of orthologous genes also exhibit similar expression patterns: GmLYK4 and MtLYK12; GMLYK10 and AtLYK2; GmLYK8 (data not shown); and AtLYK5. Interestingly, several duplicated genes displayed different expression patterns. For example, GmLYK2 and MtLYK11 expression is dramatically different from duplicated partners, GmNFR1 and MtLYK10, respectively. MtLYK9, paralogous to MtLYK13, is expressed differently from the latter. These data suggest the functional diversification of LYK genes after duplications.

In light of the detailed description of the invention and the examples presented above, it can be appreciated that the several aspects of the invention are achieved.

It is to be understood that the present invention has been described in detail by way of illustration and example in order to acquaint others skilled in the art with the invention, its principles, and its practical application. Particular formulations and processes of the present invention are not limited to the descriptions of the specific embodiments presented, but rather the descriptions and examples should be viewed in terms of the claims that follow and their equivalents. While some of the examples and descriptions above include some conclusions about the way the invention may function, the inventors do not intend to be bound by those conclusions and functions, but put them forth only as possible explanations.

Moreover, while most of the examples provided use Arabidopsis or soybean as the host plant, it is to be understood that the transgenic and plant breeding procedures described herein are broadly applicable to other plant species as well. These other plants may include but are not limited to: Rice, Wheat, Barley, poplar, M. truncatula, L. japonicus and many other crops, vegetables, and trees. Although transformation and breeding procedures differ from one plant species to another, it is within the skills of an ordinary artisan to modify the teaching of this disclosure for use in other plants. The methodology for conferring fungal resistance upon a plant or for selecting for a fungal resistant plant may be applicable to a broad spectrum of fungi, such as Fusarium, Powdery mildew, and the variety of fungi that cause soybean rust, among others.

It is to be further understood that the specific embodiments of the present invention as set forth are not intended as being exhaustive or limiting of the invention, and that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing examples and detailed description. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

REFERENCES

Full citations of references that are not fully cited in the text are listed below. All references, including those that are not listed below but are fully cited in the text, are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as though fully disclosed herein:

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1. A transgenic plant comprising a transgene, said transgene having substantial sequence similarity to a LysM receptor kinase family gene.
 2. The transgenic plant according to claim 1, wherein the LysM receptor kinase family gene is selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides of SEQ ID Nos. 1-7.
 3. The transgenic plant according to claim 1, wherein the LysM receptor kinase family gene is selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides of SEQ ID Nos. 54-95.
 4. The transgenic plant according to claim 1, wherein the plant is soybean.
 5. The transgenic plant according to claim 1, wherein the plant is Arabidopsis thaliana.
 6. The transgenic plant according to claim 1 wherein the LysM receptor kinase family gene encodes a functional LysM receptor kinase.
 7. The transgenic plant according to claim 1 wherein the LysM receptor kinase family gene encodes a dominant negative LysM receptor kinase.
 8. The transgenic plant according to claim 1, further comprising at least one regulatory sequence operably linked to said LysM receptor kinase family gene or fragment, said regulatory sequence controlling the expression level of the LysM receptor kinase family gene or fragment.
 9. A transgenic plant comprising a transgene, said transgene encoding a protein having at least one LysM domain, a transmembrane domain and a kinase domain, said protein having substantial sequence similarity to a LysM receptor kinase.
 10. The transgenic plant according to claim 9, wherein said LysM domain has substantial sequence similarity to a LysM domain selected from the group consisting of LysM Types I-XI.
 11. A transgenic plant comprising a transgene, said transgene having substantial sequence similarity to a CRG.
 12. The transgenic plant according to claim 11, wherein said CRG is selected from the group consisting of MPK3, WRKY22, WRKY29, WRKY33 and WRKY53.
 13. A plant comprising a LysM receptor kinase family gene having at least one mutation, said mutated gene being derived from an endogenous LysM receptor kinase family gene.
 14. The plant of claim 13, wherein the mutated LysM receptor kinase family gene encodes a LysM receptor kinase with a mutation selected from the group consisting of amino acid substitution, deletion and insertion.
 15. The plant of claim 13, wherein the mutation of the LysM receptor kinase family gene alters the expression level of the encoded LysM receptor kinase in said plant.
 16. A plant comprising a CRG gene having at least one mutation, said mutated CRG gene being derived from an endogenous CRG gene.
 17. A method for protecting a plant from fungal infection, comprising the steps of: identifying a plant in need of protection against fungal infection, and administering chitin to said plant in an effective amount to induce a beneficial plant defense response.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of administering is by spraying.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein the plant is soybean.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein the plant is Arabidopsis thaliana.
 21. A method for protecting a plant from fungal infection, comprising the step of introducing into said plant a transgene, said transgene having substantial sequence similarity to a LysM receptor kinase family gene or fragment thereof.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of expressing a LysM receptor kinase encoded by said transgene.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein expression of the introduced transgene inhibits expression of LysM receptor kinase genes endogenous to said plant.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the inhibition is through RNA interference.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the transgene encodes a dominant negative form of LysM receptor kinase.
 26. The method according to claim 21 wherein the transgene is coupled with a promoter for over-expression of said LysM receptor kinase family gene.
 27. A method for protecting a plant from fungal infection, comprising the step of generating in said plant at least one mutation in a LysM receptor kinase family gene, said LysM receptor kinase family gene being endogenous to said plant.
 28. The method according to claim 27 wherein the plant is soybean.
 29. The method according to claim 27 wherein the plant is Arabidopsis thaliana.
 30. A method for protecting a plant from fungal infection, comprising the step of introducing into said plant a transgene with substantial sequence similarity to a CRG gene or fragment thereof.
 31. A method for protecting a plant from fungal infection, comprising the step of generating in said plant at least one mutation in a CRG, said CRG being endogenous to said plant.
 32. A method for identifying a fungal resistant plant, comprising the steps of (a) identifying in said plant at least one fungal resistant trait; and (b) using as a marker for said trait the sequence of a gene or fragment thereof that has substantial sequence similarity to a LysM receptor kinase family gene.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the LysM receptor kinase family gene is selected from the group consisting of polynucleotides of SEQ ID Nos. 1-7 and 54-95.
 34. A method for identifying a fungal resistant plant, comprising the steps of (a) identifying in said plant at least one fungal resistant trait; and (b) using as a marker for said trait the sequence of a gene or fragment thereof that has substantial sequence similarity to a CRG gene. 